Paradise Falling.../Dark Branch
by Ptah Aegyptus
Summary: An alternate reality Cybersix fanfiction. This branch of the story is now completed.
1. .

Paradise Falling.... Chapter 1 Author's warning: This is an Alternate Reality Cybersix fanfiction coming in from way out of left field! Some things are the same, and some are different, Please don't write saying that this doesn't match up with the comic or the cartoon, because it's not supposed to. It's in a whole different world...   
----------------------------   
Please note that the chaptering system of Fanfiction.net does not support branching stories. The first three chapters of this fanfiction are the same as "Paradise Falling.../Light Branch", but things take a different turn in chapter four. Skip ahead if you've already read the first three chapters of that story...   
------------------------------------------------------------------------   
"But-Max-saw-the-cat-and-went-buh-bur-" FI88 halted at the word. 

"Ber-serk." Cybersix supplied gently. 

"What it mean?" He looked at the cyber sitting next to him. 

"Max is a dog, right?" 

"Yes." 

"Dogs don't like cats, right?" 

"Yes. Is funny." He grinned, "I saw dog chase cat. Cat is fast." 

"They sure are, aren't they? Berserk is another word for his being very excited and angry, and he is going to do a silly thing because he is angry and excited at the same time." 

The Fixed Idea glanced down at the drawing he'd made. It showed four boys on skateboards, tied together, being pulled by a dog, "But Max is pulling train of boys." 

"Right." Cybersix smiled in anticipation. 

"What will hap-" the Fixed idea started, then looked sheepish, "Oh, read." 

"Riiiight!" 

As she usually did when she got to this section, Cybersix finished the lesson early in order to spare her eardrums from the laughing of a Fixed Idea when they got to the description of Max's mad chase of the cat and its aftermath. FI-88 staggered down the hall, still laughing. She wondered how long HE would go. The record was held by FI-318, who went for 16 and a half minutes. 

She sighed as she checked the condition of the book before carefully putting it away. She'd have to get a type in America to send her another copy, which might be difficult given that it was out of print. She was reluctant to make another visit to Meridiana to try and find a replacement that was as effective as this one. The author knew how to pace her story, and so gave a perfect mix of demanding work and rewarding humor for a Fixed Idea who decided to learn to read. The FIs felt that reading MIGHT be worthwhile, but reading a good book like "The Dragon that ate Summer" confirmed that feeling and gave them an incentive to work harder. Once they "fixed" on the idea of learning to read, their progress was astonishing. 

An equally difficult problem was deciding which type to ask. She had to be careful not to pick the same one twice, or the others would get jealous. Couldn't have that. Success depended on cooperation and friendly competition, not envy or oneupmanship. At the same time, the lucky type would have to actually succeed in finding the book, or else they'd get jeered for their failure by the others. 

She got up, stretched, and went to the window. 

The compound was immense, consisting of factories, dormitories, training facilities, gardens, farms, and laboratories, laid out in neat rows and linked by gravel paths packed down by long usage. Huge steam generators on the surrounding hills, around the perimeter and spaced evenly throughout the grounds belched steam into the air that shrouded the compound at all times. It not only served to block the sun, but also shielded the compound from detection by photo-taking satellites. This being the Amazonian jungle, the steam further raised the humidity, forcing everyone to wear light clothing. She wore her usual short white sundress and sandals. Spartan wear for spartan living. 

She glanced down and smiled as she saw FI-88 recount what he had read to a small group of FIs and technos. They listened politely, laughed, and patted him on the back (or as close to it as they could reach), congratulating him. One of the technos glanced up, saw her, and gave a quick wave and a smile. She nodded and waved back. 

A figure with wings dropped out of the billowing steam clouds, looped twice in an exuberant celebration of life, then began a low patrolling run around the perimeter of the compound, catching Cybersix's eye. 

"Oh, if I could only fly." Cybersix sighed, envying Cyberdragon's abilities. Cyberdragon had come such a long way from the horribly burned and disfigured orphan that a type in a social services office in a minor city had sent to the compound. Father had been unable to do better than replace skin with scales. Bitterness at her condition did not disappear like the pain of the burns, and it was difficult to handle her open anger with him. There were many times when Cybersix almost lost her patience and wanted to belt the ungrateful child across the room, only to be stopped by a warning glance from him or a techno who was more calm and objective than she. Happily, the addition of the wings that allowed Cyberdragon to fly had been inspired, and when they got strong enough for her to fly, her bitterness began to drain away as she trained and lengthened her flying time. When a sharp rise in accidents among the Fixed Ideas was traced back to them forgetting their tasks in order to watch her fly in typical, fixated awe, she came to realize that she was loved and respected here. One would have thought she was a Special born from the tank instead of an outsider, given the way she fiercely protected her new home. 

"Uh oh, there's bad news." Cybersix muttered when she caught sight of Jose stomping his way to the building, muscling FI-88 aside and not bothering to hear his story. She turned from the window, grabbed her literature books, and headed for her classroom. 

"CYBERSIX!" 

_"Oh CRAP!"_ she thought irritatedly. "I've got class in a few minutes, Jose." She said aloud, still heading for her classroom, hoping the brat would buzz off and persecute someone else. 

"Father wants to see you immediately!" Jose snickered, "Maybe he'll give you something important to do now, rather than teach Shakeyspeare to technos and Fixed Ideas!" 

_"Little monster." _Cybersix bit her lip, her delight at being called squashed by Jose's callous sarcasm. "On my way," she said. After writing a quick note on the chalkboard, she dropped her books off at her office and headed across the compound to the main residence, making a detour through the garden to calm herself. She was determined not to spoil whatever special moments she'd have with her father with Jose's exasperating attitude on her mind, _"Oh well, even God couldn't keep the snake out of Paradise, so the legend goes."_ she thought. 

She stopped and smelled at a particularly fragrant and colorful jungle orchid when the mud under her feet came alive and ran up her legs, "TERRA!" Cybersix gasped when it reached a bit too high, "NOT THERE!" 

Terra's jovial face appeared and he laughed as he wrapped Cybersix in his unique version of a hug, "Has Cybersix come to help Terra with the garden?" he asked her. 

"I'd love to, but father's called me." She replied, smiling. A Terra hug was a special treat: Like a bath in warm mud with none of the mess. She'd probably have a dream about this moment tonight, with a few details altered. She always did. She always woke up red as a beet and thankful nobody else in the dorm room could read minds… 

"Ohhh, that is important." He unwrapped himself from her and formed into a crude mud-man, "Is father okay?" he asked with concern, joining her in her walk. 

She looked pensive, "I don't know. I hope so." 

"Terra hope so too. He is very old." 

"Not as old as you." 

"Terra is old, yes, but young too." He paused, then said quickly, "Terra want to learn to read. Same way, like everyone else." 

She blinked. This was totally unexpected, but a welcome opening, "It's hard work doing it the way everyone else must." She stopped to look at him, "Especially with your gift for absorbing knowledge from others." She held her palms outward in a gesture of complete willingness, "Please learn it in your own unique way." 

Terra shook his head sadly, "Terra does not want to hurt sister." 

"I'm a cyber. I'm tough enough to handle the side effects, dear brother." She said softly, running her hand down the side of his face, "It would be worth it to me to give you the joy the others have when they read. It would make me very happy." she said truthfully. 

He looked very reluctant, putting his hand on hers, burying it in moist softness, "Go to father. Must not keep father waiting." 

"Please, think about it, Terra." She said, "Bye." 

"Bye. Say hello to father for me." 

"I will." 

"Terra would like that." He said, dissolving into the ground. 

Cybersix sighed. Everyone had their opinion as to who would best replace father, and Terra came up a surprising number of times as third or fourth best choice, provided that he "got with the program." Of course, talk about replacing him was done at the same time spooky ghost stories were told around the occasional campfire, and was usually done to arouse the same creepy feelings. 

The main residence was next to the garden, with the front entrance facing it. She walked up the steps and crossed the wide, wrap-around porch, smiling at the unbidden memories. When the numbers were down enough at the compound, everyone would gather on the porch to share a simple lunch, including their parents. 

A stunning, delicate woman with white hair reaching to her waist was standing just inside the screen door, looking out over the garden, a look of worry on her still beautiful face. 

"Mama, is everything all right?" Cybersix asked her, concerned. 

Maria's green eyes turned to Cybersix, "Ohhhh, I don't know, Six. I keep telling him to slow down more, but he just keeps pushing himself until he drops exhausted." She smiled sadly, then held her arms out. Cybersix embraced her, the love welling up inside her forcing a couple of tears past her tightly shut eyes. _"I'll never understand why I cry when I'm happy._ She thought to herself. 

Maria held her a few seconds longer than normal, then released her, "He's in the upper office. Tell him to slow down, will you?" 

"As if he'll listen to me sooner than you?" Cybersix rolled her eyes and kicked off her shoes to prevent tracking dirt into the jewel of the compound. 

"Just try for me, please?" 

"Of course, mama, but I can't promise anything." 

She ran up the stairs but took her time walking down the hall. The feel of the thick, velvety red carpeting between her bare toes was another rare treat to be enjoyed when opportunity arose. 

A blonde with chin length hair stood by the door.. She wore a short grey shirt with long sleeves that was high enough to show off her abdomen and snug enough to show off her curves. Black cargo pants, too big for her petite frame were held up by a thick belt with a silver buckle that hung low, below her navel, on her hips. The cargo pants were stuffed into highly polished black combat boots. "Hi Six." She gazed solemnly at her sister. 

"Hi Quaren." 

Quaren looked at her in irritation, "To YOU, I'm still Seven! Got a problem with that?" 

"No ma'am!" she reached for the door. When father had muttered something about exploring a second stage of evolution for the cybers in the presence of some Technos, most of the cybers had secretly competed for the privilege to volunteer. Despite her small size, Seven beat them all with sheer grit and determination. The experiment would never be repeated because the process suddenly became too painful halfway through, and there was no turning back. There'd only be one Evolved Cyber, so Quaren still clung to her closest siblings, even though she was technically now a Special. 

Quaren grabbed her slim wrist, "Uh uhh." 

"But Jose said that…" 

"Not without the secret sign!" Quaren said roughly, her eyes betraying her tough exterior. 

"Oh, how forgetful of me!" 

After the hug and mutual kiss on the right cheek that served as the "secret sign" of the cybers, Cybersix looked at Quaren soberly, "Ummm, how's father doing?" she whispered. 

"I'm not deaf!" the voice came from the other side of the door. 

Quaren and Cybersix looked at each other with wide eyes and chagrined looks. 

"Quaren! Is that Cybersix?" the voice asked with a tone of patience being sorely tried. 

"Yes, Father!" Quaren said into the air, rising and dropping on her toes in mock nervousness, rolling her eyes. 

"Come in dear!" it invited. 

"Nothing wrong with his hearing." Quaren answered Cybersix's question, eyebrows arching. 

"Or anything else!" The owner of the voice was clearly exasperated. 

"Yessss Father!" Quaren looked up at the ceiling. 

"Such excitement!" Cybersix jabbed her with her elbow while opening the door. 

"You don't know the half of it!" 

Von Richter was sitting in his chair in front of the communications console. Cybersix glided across the floor and sat down on the floor next to his chair, tucking her feet under herself. She slid her hand across his lap to take his gnarled hand in hers. She squeezed it, the sensation of thin skin filling her mind. 

He lifted his other hand to put it on her head, "Well, how are the reading lessons going?" he asked, slowly stroking the short hair that stuck out at the back of her head. 

"Wonderfully father. I'll have to order another book soon, for the copy we have is pretty worn out. Any idea of who to ask?" 

Von Richter thought a moment, "I suppose the school superintendent in Phoenix needs a lift." He said quietly, "The teacher's union is giving him fits about instituting the Modified Phonics lesson plan you developed. He's got connections. I forget his number, but you can use the computer to look it up." 

"Phoenix, School superintendent." Cybersix murmured to herself, fixing it into her mind, "Oh, Terra says hello." 

"He can come in here and say it himself any time he wants to." Von Richter said somewhat irritably, "You'd think he'd be over it by now!" 

"He isn't." she said aloud. _"And can you blame him?"_ she thought, _"You insisted on doing his initial training yourself, and wouldn't let anybody else volunteer, and you nearly died. We were lucky that Type-728 was home for vacation from his job at Walter Reed, and was able to revive you."_ Aloud, she said, "He wants to learn to read, like everyone else." 

"What a waste." Von Richter sighed, "He's the potential repository for the world's wisdom, and he won't train to absorb knowledge and skills from our planet's human treasures without draining their life energy or hurting them. We'd never lose any knowledge or skill to death again." 

"I offered myself to him, father. He wouldn't hear of it. He can't bear to cause pain." 

"Hmm. Maybe if I talked to him…" he thought, then glanced down at his arm. 

Her eyes followed his to the blue tattoo on the upper part of his left forearm. A string of numbers. The only act of defiance ever done by each member of Von Richter's immense family, save mama and Jose, was to tattoo their names and numbers on the same place when they "came of age". He hated the practice, but all of his threats and orders just couldn't stop it. Cybersix remembered the thrill of the forbidden before getting it, and the feeling of connectedness with him when it was done. 

"Ummm, no." he shook his head at a distant, ugly memory, "We would do well to share his reluctance." 

She laid her head on his lap and closed her eyes. He patted her hair slowly, as if enjoying the feel of her glossy hair in his hand. At least she hoped so. For this single moment, everything was wonderful and right in her world. 

Von Richter sighed, "You've done well, my dear cyber. I wish my programming could be better, so your services wouldn't be required." 

"I enjoy teaching, father." Her heart leaped at hearing his approval. 

"That you do." He smiled, "Sending you out in the field would have been a waste of your true talents. You finished near the top if I remember correctly." 

She smiled bitterly at the compliment. Her Cyber brothers and sisters were scattered throughout the armies of the minor nations of the world, serving as privates and non-commissioned officers, watching for human rights violations and stepping in to prevent atrocities. The eleven who had gotten into Milosovic's Serbian army had saved thousands. Twenty nine was the only one caught. He had been hanged as a traitor when it was discovered that he had managed to spirit away an entire orphanage from right under the noses of two army divisions. Contrary to Von Richter's orders that cybers were permitted to use their strength and skills to save themselves if caught, twenty nine had obviously decided to submit rather than escape. It was concluded that he did so to allay suspicions and prevent the Serbian army from starting a search to purge his siblings. The technos and types had relatively safe jobs, but the cybers were charged to stand between the sword and the innocent. Standing next to the rough-hewn empty coffin at the memorial service, Cybersix wept long and hard over the loss of her brother and dear childhood friend, and had agonized for days over not being out there with her brothers and sisters. Only the joy that her students experienced while discovering the treasures of literature under her tutelage eventually brought her out of her deep depression. 

"Well, it seems we have problems in Meridiana." Von Richter sighed. 

"Father, please slow down and let someone else worry about the world." Cybersix murmured softly, squeezing his hand, "Type 18 or 37 would be i-" 

"I AM PERFECTLY FINE!" Von Richter interrupted loudly. He looked at her, frustrated, "You all are making too much of a fuss over me! Trying to get me to Slow Down. To Take It Easy. To Watch Your Blood Pressure. Tiptoeing around me as if I had a foot in the grave already! And the Technos!" He waved his hand irritably in the general direction of the laboratories, "Are they sticking to the program for discovering a cure for cancer or AIDS? NOOO! They're working on geriatric medicines! Like VIAGRA! Can ANYONE tell me what the HELL were they thinking when they came up with VIAGRA??!?? Marryn wouldn't have allowed such nonsense for a second!" 

Cybersix started to giggle despite her strenuous efforts to keep a straight face, "Better ask mama about THAT one!" 

"Hmmm! I just might!" he muttered, "Where were we?" 

"We were talking about letting type 18 or 37 take over the day to d-" 

"No, we weren't!" he interrupted again, "That was a rhetorical question, and you know it!" 

"Yes, father." She sighed. At least she'd tried, "We have problems in Meridiana." She recited dutifully. 

"We sure do! And speaking of the devil, type 37's been kidnapped by Cornazon." 

"What?" Cybersix gasped. 

Type 37 had been appointed the Meridiana Police Chief by the mayor, and had proceeded to clean out and shape up the force into something closely resembling the finest outfit in South America, if not in the Western Hemisphere. 37 had theorized that young thugs start off robbing the underprotected poor, and then moved up to the more respectable and better protected victims when they felt confident enough or got a bit more greedy. Consequently he re-targeted the efforts of the police after purging the bad apples. Coupled with a reallocation of judicial resources to expedite the cases proved very successful in Meridiana and elsewhere. By leveraging the "us against them" mentality prevalent among the lower classes in Meridiana, it came about that there was no glamor and much shame in being caught robbing a homeless person or prostitute. The papers continually boasted about this or that Yankee delegation coming in to ask questions and get advice on solving their problems. Everyone knew 37! He fussed continually about his weight and being bald, and so had developed an incredible sense of humor to cope. He always came for Christmas vacation back to the compound. And you'd be sorry if you missed the evening meal on the second night of his arrival when, over cigars and fine wine, he'd trot out fresh cracks about large noses and old farts, and Von Richter would retaliate with equally fresh and appropriate comments about fatties and baldies. Then they'd compete to see who had the worst job by commenting on their underlings and the various mishaps that had occurred that past year, in which everyone else, save mama, was not spared. All in good fun, of course. Christmas without 37 was. Just. Simply. Unthinkable. 

Cornazon was a notorious drug lord that had fabricated a reputation of himself of being a modern day Robin Hood, winning the support of the poor and homeless in Meridiana to better grease the wheels of his drug trafficking. That is, until their contact in Meridiana, Dr. Anthony Zacharias, had used his considerable reputation to add up the numbers and demonstrate the fact that Cornazon was keeping 90% of his gains for himself, instead of giving it to the poor as he had boasted. Apparently, the math skills of the poor improved immensely when the numbers happened to be expressed in terms of currency. Everyone thought Cornazon had been bested when a hit squad sent against Dr. Zacharias had run up against the formidable defenses of his townhouse, and had counted themselves lucky to have barely survived the encounter. In retaliation, 37 sprang a surprise raid that had involved careful investigation and detective work for months, rounding up various street dealers, middle men, and a couple of Cornazon's lieutenants. Even the two judges that Cornazon had bribed as insurance against such an eventuality were arrested, bringing in the national government and three temporary outside judges to conduct the trials. The compound had been so giddy with happiness, they'd served cake for supper in celebration. 

"I told him to watch his back, but no, he wouldn't take my warning!" Von Richter complained. 

"Well, look who's talking!" Cybersix couldn't help herself. 

"Hmph! Well, *I* have enough sense to allow Quaren to stand outside my door!" Von Richter returned, "Not that I have any choice about THAT, but he's got a whole police force to choose from!" 

"Hmm. Isn't kidnapping a rather unusual move for Cornazon?" 

"He wants his cronies freed in exchange for 37. Of course, we know what's the value of HIS word!" 

"He might be dead already!" Cybersix bit her lip. 

"Happily, no. They're sending photos of him reading the daily newspaper to prove he's still alive. Cornazon's trying to salvage his reputation. He and 37 swapped places on those popularity polls of the poor and homeless run by the Independent, so he's got to be careful and make it look like an accident." 

"Whew! Well, he's got to be rescured, then!" 

"Right. Pick a squad of Specials to help you and bring him back alive." 

"ME!??" Cybersix was shocked, "Quaren's the tactical genius! Send her!" 

"THAT statue?" He waved at the door, "She was my first choice, of course, but she refuses to budge an inch from guarding that door as if my life depended on it. All the other cybers are either out in the field, in transit, or needed here. This is simply not the job for a Techno, and the Fixed Ideas wouldn't know what to do, bless them. Besides, you scored third in tactics, and…" He stopped and looked a bit pained. 

_"Twenty nine was second, but he's not here."_ she completed the sentence in her mind, "What are the other problems in Meridiana?" she asked aloud. 

"Hmm, a biology teacher and reporter for the Independent by the name of Lucas Amato has been investigating and reporting on genetically enhanced humans. The articles have that typical focus on lurid speculations and doomsday scenarios calculated to boost circulation, although he doesn't have any solid evidence. Yet. We can't stop him, of course, but we can try winning him over like we did with Tony. He's a coworker of Tony's, who's been working with Kayla to get you assigned there with the right credentials. Befriend Mr. Amato if you can, figure out the kind of man he is, see where he's headed, and win him over if possible. Check in with Kayla to get details on your cover. She'll have something on Cornazon's location too." 

Leave the compound? The rescue raid would only take a short time, but the Amato assignment might last for months! "My students…" she started to protest. 

"Will understand once I break the bad news. Please Six, you ARE the best choice." Von Richter clasped his other hand around hers, holding it between his cool, worn, gnarled fingers, "The Specials don't have your specialized training, and with you in charge, the chances of them being harmed would be far less than if they went alone. Tactics just isn't Kayla's strength, so other than Quaren, I honestly don't think anyone else would have a better chance of succeeding in the rescue mission." He smiled a bit at the sour look she gave him, "As for Amato, you were my first choice anyway." 

"What if he doesn't want to join us?" She was starting to dislike the man for pulling her away from home. 

"I'll worry about that when it happens," He smiled a little evilly, "I'd worry less if you were doing it, you know." 

Cybersix pictured Quaren employing her unique brand of "recruiting" tactics. The picture of her holding a man over the edge of a building and shaking him like a rag doll to drive some sense into his head somehow came to mind…. 

"Ohhh, if it keeps you from worrying, then I'll be pleased to do it, father," She got up and planted a kiss on his cheek, "I'd better get going. I love you." 

"Thank you dear. I love you too. Please be careful, okay?" 

"I have every reason in the world to be careful and hurry back." She assured him, hoping that this Lucas Amato would prove as reasonable as Dr. Zacharias. That would be a tough act to follow. It was Von Richter himself who had recruited the doctor while attending a two day symposium on the potential of Nanotechnology in medicine.   
------------------------   
Story adapted from "The Dragon That Ate Summer", by Brenda Seabrooke.   
--------------------   
Credits: 

I found it impossible to write the story without including some of the characters created by the fans of Cybersix. At the time I wrote this (12/2000 to 1/2001), the following characters either already had stories written about them, or were explained well enough by their author so that I could write them into the story with their approval. They are used by permission of the authors. 

I thank them for their creativity, and for the trust they put in me to treat the children of their imaginations with as much respect as I would my own sons. As of 1/2001, they are active participants at the EZBoard Cybersix forum at: 

http://pub18.ezboard.com/bcybersix. 

Bethany is (C) Bethany Trodden (Attempted contact. Is mentioned in passing)   
Genesis and Maria are (c) Genesis Seidelman   
CyberDragon is (c) Dragonkey   
Kayla and Marryn are (c) Nightflower   
Quaren is (c) Anay   
Dr. Anthony Zacharias is my fan Character. I've posted what I've written about him in a separate story, set in the "normal" Cybersix Universe. 

All other characters from the Cybersix cartoon and comic are (c) Carlos Trillo, Carlos Meglia, TMS, and NOA.   



	2. .

Cybersix walked out of Von Richter's office in a less happy mood than when she had entered. She glanced up and noticed Quaren watching her. She stopped and they locked eyes.

Quaren looked miserable. She shrugged and cocked her head towards the door.

Cybersix smiled and embraced her sister, "I understand." she whispered into Quaren's ear.

"Damn it, be careful or I'll hunt you down and flay you alive!" Quaren hissed.

"Now I really have a good reason to be careful!" Cybersix giggled.

She went down the stairs. Maria was standing beside the bannister.

"Mama, I'm sorry. I tried." Cybersix sighed.

Maria just shook her head and smiled sadly, "Thanks for trying, dear." she thanked her, "Don't forget your shoes. And be careful. For me?"

"Oh especially for you, mama!" Cybersix hugged her.

She stood outside of the screen door, wriggling her shoes back on as she thought over what to do next and who to recruit.

She re-entered the garden and glanced around. The ground looked a bit queer next to a large plant with huge green leaves, so she went over there, "Terra?"

Terra rose up out of the ground, "Hello Cybersix. Are father and mother okay?"

"Hello Terra. Yes, they are fine. Don't worry about them."

"Terra is happy. Can Cybersix help with the Garden now?"

"No Terra. Father has given me two jobs to do, and I've got little time to do the first one. Type 37 has been kidnapped by Cornazon, and I must pick some Specials to help me rescue him. Will you come with me?"

"Type 37 is in danger??" Terra was shaking, which he did when upset.

"Yes."

"Is it dangerous? Must Terra hurt people?"

"Maybe. But Terra, if you come, fewer people may be hurt, including any brothers or sisters who will come with me."

"Is Cybersix leader?"

"Yes."

"Then Terra will come." He said resolutely.

"Good. I'll have Kayla make the announcement when we're ready to move out."

She walked to the garden exit, but couldn't cross the path that ran alongside, since a troop of 100 young cybers had suddenly appeared and were charging past her.

"HEY! IT'S SIX!" someone shouted. A few skidded to a halt, only to be bowled over by the ones behind them. The ones after them slowed down, walked around the pileup and began to gather around her, eager to meet one of the very first cybers.

"DID I TELL YOU TO STOP?" Cyber 1377 bellowed, who had been bringing up the rear, "AAARGH! What batch of half baked sustenance was used to GROW you ALL???"

Cybersix looked down and covered her mouth with her hand so the cybers wouldn't see her smiling.

"I DON'T CARE IF SHE'S GOT CARROTS GROWING OUT OF HER EARS! WHEN I TELL YOU TO RUN, YOU RUN! IS THAT CLEAR???"

"YESSIR!"

"NOW, WHAT DID I TELL YOU TO DO?"

"RUN SIR!"

"WELL???"

They turned and scampered down the path. 1337 winked at her, "MOVE IT YA SLOTHS! YOU GOTTA MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME!" he shouted as he ran after them.

She headed across the compound to the main laboratory. She entered the main lobby and headed down the stairs to the computer room. She glanced through the glass window at the seemly endless rows of personal computers and miles of blue wire as she walked to the end of the hall and opened the door at the end.

Kayla, Cyber 338, sat at a console, a pencil in her mouth and a scowl on her face as she pounded at the keyboard, "Where ARE you, you stupid little..."

"Hi Kayla!" Cybersix greeted her, "Got a few minutes, or should I come back later?"

"Hi sis. Just waitaminnit." she swiveled her chair and typed in something on another terminal.

Cybersix's eye wandered over to the wall, where two katanas in their scabbards hung crossed on the wall. On the floor was a small backpack, which she knew contained a black Ninja costume. Even across the room and despite the dull drone of air conditioning and computer fans, she could hear the one that sang with a low vibrating hum*. Kayla had given a demonstration of Ninja sword skills once, and had chosen that one to use. It had been chilling and eerie to hear it warble and whine as she went through her practice sets, the sword seeming to sing in harmony with her movements. Kayla afterwards confessed she didn't know which one she'd use if sent on a mission: The normal sword for silence, or the singing one to strike terror.

She had been sent to Dr. Zacharias' townhouse to install the secure communications link to the compound, as well as upgrade his computer as a favor. While loading the software, a three pronged attack by unknown enemies of the doctor destroyed the block's transformer and his backup generators in the yard, bringing down his defenses and letting in the third group. For some reason, she had brought along her katana out of a strangely perverse (for her) desire to impress him. She was not pleased that the power failure had scrambled the disk three quarters of the way through a Windows install, so she made short work of the intruders, which partly accounted for the reason why their origin remained unknown.

In gratitude, Dr. Zacharias obtained a katana of exceptional quality from a master swordmaker, the mention of whose name made Kayla gasp and blush with embarassment at such largesse. He then treated the sword using nanotechnology to render the edge sharp beyond her comprehension and the body of the blade incredibly tough. She didn't believe his warnings about it until a fixed idea, who had been looking at it, dropped it and it buried itself into the ground two feet. They were clearing a part of the forest for extra farmland, so she took it out there and sliced down more trees in 10 minutes than five Fixed Ideas could in an hour. An unfair comparison, the fixed ideas later complained: the singing scared the devil out of them.

The only problem with the katana, Kayla complained, was getting it to shut up when stealth was essential, and silence was worth three dollars a second.

Framed by the hanging katanas was a picture of Marryn.

"I still miss her."

Cybersix was roused out of her reverie at Kayla's comment, "We all do." Cybersix sighed, "Am I that obvious?"

"Yes." Kayla smiled sadly.

"So, what computer problem has been bugging you now?" Cybersix asked, changing the subject quickly.

Kayla scowled and waved at the seeming endless banks of microcomputers on the other side of the glass wall, "Beowulf Linux clusters have problems detecting double failures, and I had the stupid luck of getting two failures since I left last night. I'm running a long diagnostic now since you're here to be briefed for the Cornazon mission."

"And the Meridiana mission too."

"I'm still compiling the dossier on that Amato guy. Kinda cute, in a Fixed Idea sort of way." She punched up a JPEG of a bulky, muscular blonde.

"Hmph! I don't know!" Cybersix glared at the screen, "Looks like he's got meat for brains. And his reflexes can't be all that good with all that muscle to move around!"

"I won't argue about the reflexes, but meat for brains he has not, dear sister. His series that got father's attention has the science right, although the speculations and predictions don't seem to mesh with the articles. Then again, you're the literature specialist, so I'll defer to your judgement."

With a scowl, Cybersix reached over and punched a button, erasing the picture, "The Cornazon file? Please?"

"Oh ho! Touchy, aren't we? Maybe you like the guy?" Kayla jibed as she typed in some print commands and pulled up some satellite pictures on displays.

"Thanks to him, I'm going to be condemned to Meridiana for months!" she complained.

Crosshairs appeared on the display, "Given that Cornazon lives in the jungle for the same reasons we do, he's practically a neighbor." Kayla started, "His compound isn't more than 50 kilometers northwest of here, a bit deeper in than we are, but closer to the poppy fields necessary for his line of business." A section of the display was marked off, then blown up to reveal a jungle compound more typical of Amazonia than Von Richter's, "I don't know how he could come off as Robin Hood, given the way he treats uncooperative farmers. A brutal and nasty sonuvabitch. Need a hand?"

"Father seemed reluctant to let you go." Cybersix replied.

"Hey, who's in charge of the mission, you or him?" Kayla swiveled in her chair to face her.

"I am."

"You know father's style. You have complete authority." she frowned at her,"What exactly did he say about me?"

"Well, he didn't want you in charge, because tactics aren't your strength." Cybersix bit her lip.

"And he's right." Kayla assured her, "But did he say he didn't want me to go?"

"Well, no."

"Then take charge!"

Cyber 338 had suffered distress at "birth". Marryn had worked on 338 and saved her, getting attached to her in the process. Marryn pulled strings to get 338 assigned to do chores in her lab, watch the experiments, even to help at her bungalow. Candies ordered from outside wound up in 338's hands and tummy, albeit in a way that ensured that no other cyber found out about the favoritism. It was Marryn who noted 338's incredible skill with computers, and made sure the cyber had plenty of time and help to attain mastery.

Born and raised on the Continent, Marryn believed in the value of being widely travelled in order to broaden the mind. Thus, Marryn insisted that 338 leave the compound and travel to Japan on an assignment for her, privately noting the young cyber's interest in the far east. While there, she was able to impress a ninja master to take her under his tutelage, and the assignment strangely took longer and longer to complete. When 338 came back with a katana bestowed by her sensei as his most excellent pupil, Marryn was estatic but Von Richter was doubtful.

Then came the incident at Dr. Zack's townhouse. In the same ceremony at the compound when Dr. Zack presented her his token of appreciation, Von Richter made her a "Special". It was Marryn who named her "Kayla". It was having a special talent or ability that made one "Special." It did not matter that those talents might be innate or acquired.

Marryn suffered a stroke a few weeks later, and passed away in her beloved Kayla's arms. It took months for the compound, the Von Richters, and Kayla, to recover from the loss. She bagged up the ninja costume and hung up the swords and the picture, taking one down daily to practice in the solitude and privacy of the computer control room since that time.

"What's the status of any rescue mission being mounted by the government or the police?" Cybersix asked.

Kayla blinked, looking a bit disappointed, and turned to a console readout, "No news or action anywhere. Cornazon's still a favorite with some, so there's political pressure on the government to believe that he'll keep his end of the bargain."

"Then you're not needed to inject confusing orders into their communications system that would delay them and interfere with our operation, are you?"

"Oh no!" she brightened.

"Then you're on the team. For your stealth skills," she added quickly, "I prefer humiliating Cornazon, not slaughtering him."

"You hope." Kayla returned, looking skeptical.

"Okay," Cybersix sighed, "Bring one of the katanas. Don't use it unless you have to."

"Who's coming along?" Kayla got up to get the printouts of photos and maps that were being spat out by the high speed color printer.

"Terra for sure. I haven't thought of any others yet. I want to come up with a plan first."

"Want the Meridiana briefing now?"

"No. I don't want to fume over it during this mission."

"Good idea." Kayla approved.

The two bent over the printed out photos and maps, considering and rejecting various options. Cybersix became grateful that Kayla had convinced her to put her on the rescue team: Her ninja training made her an excellent critic.

"Hmm, it's obvious who you should ask next." Kayla observed when they had settled on a plan.

"Right. It may take a while. I'll call you when I know who can come and who can't."

"Better make it snappy. The deadline is noon tomorrow." Kayla got up to get her knapsack.

"We'll strike before morning for sure."

Cybersix left the laboratory and headed out to the east perimeter. The gravel path became a dirt path, then a small trail as she passed the steam generators and entered the jungle that surrounded the compound. She paused occasionally to listen to the sounds of screaming parrots, chattering monkeys, and the occasional roar of the ruling black jungle panther that came from the green world around her.

Soon, these welcome sounds would be gone, to be replaced by the noise, chatter, crowds and confusion of city life.

She came to a natural clearing in the jungle, where the sunlight was able to stream down to the floor. The black, knarled arms of burnt trees revealed that the origin of the clearing was a recent fire caused by lighting. Lighting struck this area a lot, which was the reason why the compound was placed here. It provided the energy necessary to create sustenance.

She paused and looked around, then smiled and walked confidently across the clearing.

"AAAAUUUGGGHHH! YOU SPOILED MY SHOT!"

Cybersix turned to see Grizelda appear out of nowhere, prone on the ground with her Leica pointed at a hole. Her lizard-like red eyes glared at her.

"How the heck am I going to get a good shot of the Amazonian rabbit with people coming through here like it was downtown Meridiana??" she complained.

Grizelda was a Special because of her ability to turn invisible. She was as strong as a cyber, and had excelled in Stealth and Spying Techniques. She used her ability to become the worlds most famous, and most anonymous, Amazon photographer, being able to sneak up really close to her subjects, and possessing the boundless patience necessary to wait for them to appear.

Except, of course, when members of intelligent species or varieties derived therefrom appeared to behave in a decidedly unintelligent manner in her estimation. Even Fixed Ideas rarely ventured out into the jungle, less out of fear of the panther than from stumbling into Grizelda on the prowl for her next Pulitzer nominated nature photo. There wasn't a jungle themed calendar on the planet that didn't have fewer than three photos copyrighted "GVR".

"So what the HELL are you doing here?" Grizelda got up, "And get the hell away from that hole!"

"We've got a problem." Cybersix said, not moving.

Grizelda glared at her, then motioned her to follow her to a prudent distance from the hole, "So what problem do I have, other than you being here?" she demanded as she began to diddle with the 15 controls on her camera.

"Type-37's been kidnapped by Cornazon, and Father has made me team leader of a rescue squad of specials."

Grizelda's head snapped up, "Oh crap. Old baldy is surrounded by cops, and he manages to get himself kidnapped?" she complained. But she began to go through an elaborate shutdown sequence of her camera, "And I suppose you want me to go along and rescue his sorry fat ass?"

"Well, yes, if you're not too busy with your dear little rabbit."

"Ah, why not? Old Peter probably is scared shitless by now with me yelling at you."

"Oh? Is that him?" Cybersix pointed over Grizelda's shoulder. She turned and groaned at the sight of a rabbit not thirty feet away sitting upright on its haunches regarding them curiously. And her camera was fully shut down.

"Stinkin' rabbit! I'd better get a break before that beast drives me stark raving mad!" Grizelda walked over to a tree trunk and pulled a camera case out of the backpack hidden there, "I'll have you know, I'm coming dressed as I am! Got any problems with that?"

It didn't really matter what Grizelda wore, since it wouldn't be seen anyhow. She was currently dressed in a light blue one piece speedo swimsuit with a pair of very short shorts pulled on, long white socks and brown boots. Sorta looked like what her favorite computer game character wore. Cybersix idly wondered if Grizelda had finally gotten over the recent report of Lara's demise.

A shadow passed overhead. Both women glanced up to see Cyberdragon descending in lazy, slow circles..

"Damn place is starting to look like the Meridiana Metro at rush hour!" Grizelda complained.

Dressed in jeans and a light blue shirt with velcro lined slits in the back for her wings, Cyberdragon landed next to them, "We've got company." she reported, the sun gleaming off her finely scaled green skin.

"Shit! One damn thing after another!" Grizelda complained, "Where?"

"Five klicks down the mountain. Usual group of about three white bwanas and many willing, obedient black and indian servants carrying their stuff."

"Damn. You'd think after all the years we've been here scaring the crap out of them, that they'd have run out of willing and obedient black and indian servants to carry their stuff by now!"

"There's no time for making like the Great Mazouti of the Amazon." Cybersix interjected, "Type-37's been kidnapped, and I need Grizelda and you with me, Cyberdragon, to rescue him."

Cyberdragon regarded her with shock, "Leave the compound without me watching? Let the whole world just march in and find us?"

"It's just for tonight, Cyberdragon," Cybersix put her hand on Cyberdragon's upper arm, "Look, I need you and your night vision for Recon, lookout, and attack coordination, and I need Grizelda to go in and pull him out. We haven't got much time."

Cyberdragon's eyes drifted from Cybersix's eyes down to look pointedly at her own arm. With a start, Cybersix realized that she had been unconsciously caressing her upper arm, enjoying the feel of the smooth, closely joined, jewel-like scales as they slid past her fingers. She reddened and pulled her hand away hastily, "I-I'm sorry! I-" she sputtered.

Cyberdragon smiled, "Hey, the Fixed Ideas like it too. I was never this popular when I was an orphan hiding in that opera house!"

Grizelda laughed at Cybersix's confusion, "Looks to me we'll have to use Big Bird, then," she remarked.

"Right." Cyberdragon agreed, "I'll get him going, then follow you to the meeting point."

She lifted her wings above her head and leaped upwards. They stroked downwards, and the two women felt the strong rush of wind around them as the beating wings lifted her into the sky. They watched as she disappeared, gliding, behind the trees.

Their eyes then met.

"Damn!" Grizelda shook her head, "If only..."

"Me too." Cybersix confessed.

Grizelda slung her pack onto her back, "So, who grabbed 37?" she asked as the two headed back to the compound.

"Cornazon. He's being held captive in their jungle hideout 50 klicks from here."

"Well, we won't be gone long, then." Grizelda nodded, "Who else is going?"

"Terra and Kayla."

Grizelda's eyebrows went up, "Kayla? She's with me, right?"

"Yes."

"Good. I hate working with amateurs. I suppose Terra can manage."

"He'll be with me."

"Really? So how-"

The raucous sounds of several thousand birds filled the air, interrupting her. Cyber and Special looked to their right to see thousands of birds flying through the jungle understory. A huge blue bird sporting a metal helmet with anntenae weaved expertly through the trees. The huge, squawking assembly whirled like a storm down the hill in the general direction Cyberdragon had indicated.

"Whew!" Grizelda wiped mock sweat off her brow, "I wouldn't want to be those white bwanas now!"

"Well, for starters, you're not white, sister dear."

Grizelda guffawed, then snapped her fingers, "Hey! I got an idea! Why don't we get Big Bird to come with us and litterally drop a shitload of birdcrap on Cornazon as a diversion?"

"We thought of that, but Kayla didn't want to sneak through the mess."

"Oh yeah. They'd spot my footprints appearing in it too." Grizelda glanced behind her, "Say, can you tell me something?"

"Depends. What is it?"

"Do you know where the hell Bethany came up with the name 'Big Bird' for him?"

Cybersix shrugged, "Probably that yankee preschool program she got the Fixed Ideas addicted to when she came during Christmas. The one done in the inner city**."

She jerked her thumb downhill, "Does HE know?"

"No! You want to tell him?"

"Hell no!!"   


* * *

  
*There was a TV special called "Merlin". The song of the katana is the same as Excalibur.   
**Sesame Street, (C) PBS.

It was in the interest of literary variety that I have Grizelda speaking as she does. No approval on the use of such language is expressed or implied.   
  



	3. .

Cybersix looked in the pocket mirror critically, checking her camouflage paint. She applied a bit of the gooey stuff to her cheek. Nodding, she folded it up and glanced at the others in the red-lit cabin of the gently swaying walker.

Everyone was quiet. Thinking or concentrating on preparations. It was this way with all warriors just before beginning an offensive. _"We are so much like real humans,"_ she thought, _"But we're not."_

She checked each of her people over. Terra was at the front, watching as the walker picked its way though the jungle. _"Probably the first time he's been out of the compound, and he's fascinated,"_ she thought. _"Good thing he'll be with me, although he stands the best chance of surviving this."_

Kayla sat behind Terra, and wore her black ninja costume, katana strapped to her back. Her eyes were closed. _"I'd like to know what you're thinking, sister. Probably meditating to prepare yourself for the task ahead."_ Kayla didn't blink when Cybersix had told her what her role would be, as if it was expected, _"I hope all those rumors about Ninja stealth are true. You sure are acting like they're true."_ She thought.

Across from her, Grizelda was checking everything in her tool belt and lashing it down so it wouldn't make any noise, _"A pro in every way."_ Cybersix mentally included Kayla in that estimate with a flick of her eyes back to her sister cyber. Both had taken well the placing of Grizelda as head of the penetration team. Cybersix made a mental note to have Kayla regraded on Stealth: her scores were old, from the time before she became a ninja. Specials didn't have to be retested, but it would be good to have some fresh scores in case things didn't go as smoothly in future operations.

Cybersix turned to the rear and exchanged smiles with Cyberdragon, who had been watching HER. She had a headset on and a channel control strapped to her belt. The radios they were using were very low power to prevent detection, and Cyberdragon was carrying the signal booster and would act as communications officer and recon. She was kneeling on the floor, leading forward slightly so as to not let her wings touch the floor and be rubbed as the walker shifted around. She was dressed in blue jeans and a black shirt.

Cybersix returned her gaze to the front, her eyes resting on Jose, who was uncharacteristically quiet, moving only to fiddle with a control.

Cybersix and Grizelda had met the clone on the way to the field, and he had arrogantly demanded if Cybersix was still dawdling on the operation. He seemed to turn into jelly when Cybersix asked him to be the team driver and to suggest a way to get there.

Grizelda's look of doubt registered her opposition to the idea, but she had gone on to leave the two alone.

"Y-y-you want me to drive you there?" Jose stammered, shaking.

"I do. I need a way to get there that Cornazon won't think of, so he won't trace us back here. Knowing you, you've got something, don't you?"

"You need me, don't you?"

"Well, yes, I do. And so does Type 37 and father."

She wondered at the sudden transformation from arrogant child to something almost resembling an adult, "I've got something. It's been tested and works great! I'll get it ready and meet you at the field!" he turned and scampered off, the cyber watching him go with bemused wonder.

The clone had never ceased to puzzle everyone from the day he was born. A young techno, worried and anxious about the future, had come up with the idea of cloning the bodies of father and mama from cells he had obtained from their dirty laundry. He would grow them to the age of teenagers and then replace their brains with those of his parents.

The techno had good intentions, and was uncommonly good at the skill of "scrounging around" for the necessary equipment to pull it off. But he rushed things too much and his skills were inadequate for the task. On top of that, the eleventh batch of 500 cybers were close to being born, and Marryn, remembering how she'd almost lost Kayla, wanted everyone ready and available to help with their birth and take care of any complications. He tried to keep it a secret, but couldn't juggle the time demands of growing two clones from less than optimally picked DNA and his assigned tasks with the cybers. A furious Marryn, finding him gone from his post, had tracked him down to the abandoned section of the lab, discovered his little project, and had called in the Von Richters immediately.

Father hated surprises like this. He dressed down the techno in no uncertain terms, loudly wondering what the hell he, the techno, was thinking of doing with the brains of the former owners: Put them in panthers? Immoral! Insane! Ridiculous! Throw them in the garbage? Grind them up? Murder! Theft! Completely intolerable!

Maria didn't say a word at first, but just wandered from tank to tank, first gazing at one grandchild, then the other. Then she walked up to the techno, looked him in the eye, and asked sadly, "And why did you believe I would let you do that to my granddaughter?"

It was a complete mess. He had not picked the right cells to use for his source of DNA, and had not screened for obvious flaws. Jose's eyes were overly light sensitive, and his pituitary system was shot. The condition of Genesis' lungs gave father nightmares. The techno was relieved of duties and put under a suicide watch. Cyber 29 had been one of the monitors, and had cut him down on his third attempt when he had left him alone for the few seconds it took to talk to his relief. When it was Cybersix's turn, she just walked in and punched his lights out, agreeing with Quaren, who had suggested the idea, that it was for his own good.

Jose came out of the tank surprisingly well, all things considered. It was poor Genesis, swathed in long, flowing red locks, who suffered terribly. She struggled to breathe and had to be put into an oxygen tent. Maria stayed with her constantly, barely eating or sleeping, holding her granddaughter's tiny hand, singing, talking and teaching her to talk, making jokes and funny faces, encouraging her. Anything to make the child smile and laugh. Finally, the small, all-too-human body just gave out. In her final moments, with the last of her strength, the child gazed at her grandmother with huge green eyes and barely gasped out, "I-love-you," before closing them forever.

"We're here!" Jose crowed, rousing Cybersix from her memories. The swaying of the walker had stopped, and the door was opening.

"Okay," Cybersix said, feeling resolute from the memory, "We know what to do, and how to do it. We just need to do it in the right way. Kill no one unless absolutely necessary. Is that clear?"

"Of course." Terra said. Kayla nodded, as did Cyberdragon.

"Humiliation optional." Grizelda said with a grin.

Cybersix gazed at her. "I mean it." She said, slipping the strap of a huge crate over her shoulder and lifting it easily.

"Not a problem. Too messy anyway."

"Okay, We drop off everyone here. Skyhook goes high. Golf and Kilo head over to where the prison is. Tango with be with me, going to the northeast side."

Terra looked around, "Why are we playing a game?" he asked.

Kayla laughed and clapped Terra on the side, "YOU are Tango. T from Terra. Skyhook is Cyberdragon. Grizelda is G, so she's Golf. I'm Kilo, because it starts with K, just like Kayla. Cybersix will be Sierra, from Six."

"Who am I?" Jose asked.

"Jose starts with J, so you're Juliet." Cybersix said.

"Juliet? That's a girl's name from Shakeyspeare!"

Cybersix started to make a face, but then stopped and grinned, "And how did you know?" she asked him slyly.

Jose started to sputter.

"Okay, then Juno. That's the wife of Zeus, by the way. Let's go!"

"A goddess! Hmmm. Not bad. Wait a minute! That's still a girl's n-"

But the cabin of the walker was empty.

"AAAARRRGGGHHH!" Jose pulled at his hair and flopped into the pilot's chair. He punched a few buttons, and the TV screen that served as the electronic console of the walker turned into a video game with the cyber and four specials as different colored and shaped dots on the screen. The speakers came to life.

------

With powerful strokes, Cyberdragon rose into the air, flicking the radio on, "Testing testing." She said as the wind rushed warmly past her face, "Skyhook here! Check in!"

"Sierra here." "Sierra check"

"Terra is here." "You're Tango, Terra!" "Oh. Tango is here." "Tango Check!"

"Golf here" "Golf check."

"Kilo here" "Kilo check."

Silence, "Juno?" "AAARRRGGGHHH!" "Juno check."

Cyberdragon smiled as she punched the light button on her watch and started the timer, "Time zero and counting!"

_"Now lets just glide over there and see if there are any surprises the satellites didn't get." _Cyberdragon stopped stroking and began to glide, cutting through the night air swiftly.

------

Grizelda and Kayla darted from shadow to shadow, sliding around the edge of the compound toward the northwest corner until they could see a building with iron bars near the center, surrounded by other buildings. They stopped and began to count guards and other wanderers.

"Better go in over there," Kayla pointed to where a tree grew near the fence. The branches reached over it.

Grizelda tisked, "Sloppy gardening. Let's get close, then wait for the signal, Kilo."

------

Cybersix made her way through the jungle quietly but rapidly, Terra following like a slinky, throwing a slug of himself forward, then pulling the remainder of himself to it, which then was thrown forward again. Circling around in the opposite direction of the penetration team, they came to the stream that ran at an angle to the northeast corner of the compound. Crouching behind the rocks that littered that side of the stream, Cybersix let the crate down, pried the lid off with her bare hands, and began to pull out and load AK-47s from the ammo boxes supplied.

"Guns are dangerous, Sierra." Terra commented, worry in his whisper, "Tango doesn't want to hurt anyone."

Cybersix smiled at him, "You catch on, Tango. Really, I don't EXPECT you to hit ANYTHING with these. Just do what you did with your puppet show, okay? Make lots of noise and hit the buildings when I tell you. When you run out, just drop the gun and I'll reload it."

"Tango will try."

"That's all I'm asking for, brother."

------

_"They don't suspect a thing."_Cyberdragon thought as she glided over the compound,_ "They are alert, but seem very confident. Then again, Kayla said there were no plans for a government or police attack." _She saw Cybersix and Terra getting the diversion ready, but couldn't see Grizelda or Kayla. A good thing too. If she couldn't see them, then the men down there wouldn't either.

She hadn't seen anything at the southeast corner or under the tree that looked suspicious. Then again, she had to be cautious and not get too close to arouse any suspicions either.

She felt a thermal, and let the rising warm air lift her up higher. She glanced down at Cybersix and Terra, changed the channel selector to Sierra, and waited for the signal.

------

"Ready?" Cybersix whispered.

"Ready sister Sierra." Terra replied.

"Don't start until I tell you!" She whispered. She turned on the radio pickup and tapped three times on it.

------

Cyberdragon heard the taps, spun the selector to Golf, and whispered, "Go!". She began a lazy turn to glide toward the southeast corner of the compound to check out the escape route again. Something told her she had to check it out again, just to be doubly sure. Cybersix had sounded doubtful when she had put her finger on that corner and said it looked clear. If Cybersix was worried about something, it would be worth while for her, Cyberdragon, to worry about it too.

------

Grizelda nodded, "Go!" she whispered. A cackle of sparks, and she was invisible. She glanced to her left, where Kayla had been, but she wasn't there. She glanced toward the tree, but thought she saw a shadow move behind a building.

_"Damn, she's good!" s_he thought as she ran up to the tree, leaped up lightly onto the branch, ran on it over the fence, and jumped down on top of a guard. She punched him out cold, pulled out two hooks from her belt, and drove one through each shirt shoulder and into the building. When she let go, the guard was still standing, albeit a bit slumped over, as if looking at his shoes.

She slipped around to the other side to attack the other guard. Picking up a stone, she tossed it lightly over his head to divert him, but he didn't move when it hit the ground on the other side. Wondering, she went up and tapped his shoulder, only to have to catch him from falling over. Chagrined, she pinned him up too, _"Slick trick Kayla, getting them to stand up without hooks,"_ she thought, starting to feel a bit outclassed.

She slid along the wall, then dashed across to the prison block. She slid up to the corner nearest the entrance, keeping under the windows for insurance.

_"Just about now._" She thought.

------

"CORAZON! GIVE YOURSELF UP!" Cybersix shouted in a passable male voice. No self-respecting South American Revolutionary/Drug Lord was going to listen to a woman!

Terra popped himself up. He had stretched himself into a long snake with 15 bumps, each bump formed into a passable Federale holding an AK-47. Mud projections came out of each hand, closed over the triggers, and began to squeeze them in short spasms. Lights came on all over the compound at the sound of the gunfire from 15 AK-47s. There were shouts and curses, then men poured out of the nearest building with weapons. Cybersix fired a long burst into the ground, drawing a line of bullets at their feet. The men fell over each other in their mad dash back inside. They prudently opened the windows instead and started firing.

She dropped her AK and started jumping from one mud peace officer to another, reloading the AK-47s and shoving them back into whatever passed for a hand. Bullets whizzed everywhere, and she could hear the thuds as some hit Terra. She felt a spatter of mud on her cheek.

------

Cyberdragon smiled as she heard Cybersix's shout, _"Not bad. Not bad at all."_ She thought as she glided around the southeast corner.

"Ahhh! What the hell?" she gasped as lights suddenly came on in the huge tree that dominated that corner of the compound, _"Oh NO!"_ her heart sank at what she saw in the glare of the lights.

------

For a moment, Grizelda thought the Federales had indeed arrived. She didn't think Cybersix was actually going to _use_ all those AKs!

The guards standing at the front of the prison block turned toward the commotion. A shadow whipped out and felled one before he took a step, while Grizelda clotheslined the second with her forearm as he ran past and caught him as he fell.

"Ahh SHIT!" She growled in as rough a male voice as she could manage.

"What's that?" The two men inside ran out and turned left. Once again, Kalya brought down the trailing one while Grizelda punched out the other as he bent over his sleeping comrade.

Grizelda slipped inside and saw that Kayla had already picked up the keys and was running down the cell block, looking in each cell.

------

"Terra! Are you okay?" Cybersix crawled to the head of the mud snake, "TERRA?"

"Sierra forgot Terra is Tango." Terra said, amusement in his voice, "Tango getting pretty good, right?"

Cybersix couldn't argue with that. He was shooting the molding off the windows and causing intact glass panes to fall out and crash on the unsuspecting shooters. He made neat round holes a little below waist level into the walls, and judging from the curses coming from inside, sending bullets through them, and through the legs of the men standing behind them. For someone who had warned that he'd never handled a gun, Terra was handling them very well, "Good thing you're on our side!" She told him.

A man shouting orders came around the building, waving a gun.

"Cornazon!" Cybersix identified him.

The gun flew out of Cornazon's hand. He gaped at his empty hand, then scampered back when his cap flew off too.

"Few bullets!" Terra warned.

"Right!" Cybersix marvelled as she grabbed a handful of clips and began to reload the dropped AKs.

------

_"This is bad." _Cyberdragon began to climb, setting the selector to Sierra. She had been told explicitly by Kayla and Grizelda NOT to call them, for silence was essential to their success,_ "_Sierra! Sierra!" she began, deciding to brave the northeast corner of the compound.

------

Kayla found 37 in the next to last cell, cooly reading the Independent_._ He looked up when she unlocked the door, "Got the Meridiana Times? He asked.

"It's officer 338 sir! Time to go, chief!"

"What?" He blinked, then scowled as he got up, "Who's with you?" he asked as he grabbed the keys out of her hand.

"Terra and six outside, Grizz and yours truly inside, with the dragon lady upstairs."

"Great, a rescue party composed of a mud ball, a nature photographer, and a girl who runs around in her jammies, all led by a Lit teacher. It inspires confidence!" he said as he tossed the keys into another cell as they ran out.

------

"What is it?" Cybersix grunted into the pickup as she rammed a clip into an AK.

"There's a watchtower on the escape route!"

"What?" she demanded, shoving the AK into a mud hand.

"It was hidden under the branches of that big tree! I didn't see it on my first pass! The lights weren't on!"

Stupid place to put a watchtower, with more than half its field of vision cut off, Cybersix thought angrily. She shouldn't have assumed Cornazon was THAT smart! And she didn't dare break radio silence with Kayla or Grizelda! "Check to see if the prison has been breached, then call up Grizelda if it has been!"

------

Kayla and 37 came up to a large pile of bodies lying on either side of the door.

"They came to kill the prisoners." Grizelda's disembodied voice informed them. Then, "What the hell did you do, 37?"

He shrugged, "They're just simple but brave farmers who didn't want to cooperate with Cornazon. I couldn't leave them behind."

"We can't take them all," Kayla said, looking outside. She glanced up and waved at Cyberdragon.

------

"There's a watchtower under the tree along the excape route!" Cyberdragon yelled into the mike, seeing Kayla wave at her.

"Turn the channel! You're talking to Sierra!" Cybersix snapped back.

Cyberdragon's fingers shook as she turned the selector. _"This is my fault! I should have looked more thoroughly on my first pass!"_ she thought frantically.

"There's a watchtower-" she started.

"Tango not a girl." Came Terra's calm voice.

"Aaahh!" she spun the selector again and got static on an unused channel, _"I've got to do something, but what?"_

------

Grizelda led the way, with Kayla and 37 behind him. She didn't want to be in the room when those farmers found the weapons on the men she'd knocked out, or in the locked box whose cover Kayla had ripped off…

------

"Keep it up Tango!" Cybersix said as she pulled out the last six clips from the last ammo box, "We're almost done!"

------

_"I'm not strong like Cybersix or Kayla or Grizelda, but strong enough to get into trouble!"_ Cyberdragon thought miserably as she looked at the selector dial that she had snapped off in her urgency and let it fall from her hand. She started to climb, looking for signs of the penetration team's progress,_ "What can I do? I'm so weak!"_

Then, she remembered. Dr. Zack. He had been interested in her wings, and had asked to take a look at them. She knew of his talent, and so let him do so out of curiosity.

"Those are impressive wing bones you have," He had said to her afterwards, "As close to monoregular calcium that I've ever seen outside of my basement. They must be stronger than steel girders!"

------

Cybersix grabbed the AK-47 off the ground, pulled the empty clip out, rammed in the last one, then turned to Terra, "We're out! Finish these then let's go!"

Suddenly, gunfire erupted from the other side of the building. Cybersix blinked, _"What in the world is happening in there?"_

The AKs sputtered out of bullets one by one. Terra snapped each one in half and shoved a bit of himself into the mechanism to render them useless to Cornazon, "Tango done now!" he announced after destroying the last one.

------

"Oh shit!" Grizelda groaned as she crouched beside the last building at the edge of the clearing at the south end of the compound and reappeared with a cackle of electricity, "What the hell is that?"

"What?" Kayla came up from behind, "Oh no! We were wondering why he didn't have a watchtower! It was under the tree all along! We didn't think he'd be that stupid to put it there!"

------

_"Dr. Zack is a smart man."_ Cyberdragon thought as she wheeled over in a half stall,_ "He knows stuff father doesn't! I should trust him, like I trust father or Cybersix."_

------

Cybersix and Terra ran like mad along the stream. SOMEBODY had started firing at the defenders from WITHIN the compound! Otherwise, she'd be dodging bullets right now.

She cut into the jungle, Terra following her. She ran for a few seconds, then cut back to the compound, stopping just outside the foliage to get a better look.

The lights of the watchtower swept around, then came around and caught her in the open. She jumped out of the way instinctively. A hail of bullets from a large calibre machine gun sprayed bits of rock and hot metal around her lower legs.

_"Oh no! They'll be slaughtered!" _Cybersix thought desperately.

------

The wind rushed against Cyberdragon's face as she went into a dive.

"My body is weak," She murmured, "But my wings are strong."

------

"That is NOT good." Grizelda muttered, hearing the machine gun fire directed at Cybersix.

"We could try sneaking up on them." Kayla said.

"And leave 37 here?" Grizelda shook her head, "I like their spirit and the way they're protecting our ass, but those farmers stand little chance against Cornazon's boys."

"One or two were ex-Army." Type 37 said, "They'll put up a good-"

"WHAT!!??" Kayla gasped as she noticed the shadow that flicked across the face of the moon.

------

"I'm going to run out there and draw their fire." Cybersix told Terra, "That may give them a chance to run for it."

"Terra can stop bullets. Cybersix cannot." Terra pointed out.

"No! They mustn't see you!" She got up, gripped the AK firmly in her hands, and charged out of the jungle into the searchlights that snapped almost immediately upon her.

------

_"I am weak." _Cyberdragon thought as she extended her wings out fully. The rushing wind grabbed at them and pulled her up out of her dive._ "But my wings are STRONG!" _she thought as she drove straight at the watchtower's supports. She shut her eyes.

------

"LETS GO!" Grizelda ordered when she saw what Cyberdragon was doing, "COME ON, FAT STUFF!"

Kayla and Grizelda took off across the field, half pulling, half dragging 37 behind them.

------

Cybersix was about to fire a burst into the air when she heard the snapping of wood. The tower wobbled, and the searchlights came off her in time for her to see Cyberdragon's wings cutting through the second pair of poles, splinters flying everywhere. She turned and ran alongside as the watchtower crashing down onto the fence, her eyes on Cyberdragon, _"Come on Sister! LIFT!"_ she urged with all her being.

Cyberdragon seemed to wobble for a moment, then her wings began to pump and she rose into the air, making a sharp turn to avoid the jungle trees.

_"YES!" _Cybersix skidded to a halt and glanced back at the fallen watchtower. Kayla and Grizelda were flying over it 37 draped over Kayla's shoulders. They hit the ground, then leaped again.

"LETS GET OUTTA HERE!" Kayla shouted as she sailed over Cybersix.

She turned and caught sight of Terra heading into the jungle in the direction of the walker.

_"Yes. Retreat would be in order now!" _she thought, not minding Kayla temporarily taking command.   
  



	4. Start of Dark Branch

Dark Branch   
-----------------   
"Cybersix not here." Fixed Idea-88 said to Jose.

"How long have you been here?" Jose asked him.

88 looked up at the clock, "Big hand on 11, little on 6."

"Thank you. You can go to lunch now."

"Cybersix might come." The Fixed Idea insisted.

"I don't think so."

"Cybersix sad. Is she okay?" he asked as he rose from the desk.

"I don't know." Jose turned with a frown on his face, his mind going over the last few days.

Because the rescue mission had been led by a cyber, and due to the (thankfully minor) injuries suffered by Cyberdragon, the Cyber Training Review Board had stepped in and started an inquiry. In deference to the board, Von Richter thanked the entire group in general terms before turning Type 37 over to the tender care of a cyber Drill Instructor to work off 30 pounds in three days. Otherwise, he reasoned with obviously delighted malice, his explanation of escaping on his own when the prisoners made a jailbreak and making his way back to civilization through the jungle would not hold water.

The board of cyber trainers explained that the inquiry was necessary to learn from the mistakes of others. The other cybers had to be told what wouldn't work. The significance of that statement escaped nobody's notice.

Because of her lack of training with the equipment, they excused Cyberdragon's rough handling of it that resulted in the communications breakdown. They commended her for following her mission orders not to communicate with the penetration team until told otherwise, and highly praised her quick thinking and brave action that took down the watchtower. This added even more to her new found confidence. However, they disregarded her insistence that she was to blame for the failure to initially detect the watchtower. They reminded her that she had not been trained in Reconnaissance techniques.

He had been pleased when the board praised him for having followed his mission orders to the letter. He'd been able to hear everything happening due to the superior electronics he'd installed in the walker. He' been very tempted to wade in and use the four missiles stowed away in his walker. However, Cybersix had spoken to him privately, apart from the others, and had insisted that he promise to obey her orders to the very letter. He made that promise, and found it almost unbearable to listen in on the radio conversations. But the board said that using the missiles would have aroused Cornazon's suspicions and compromised the cloak of secrecy surrounding Von Richter's entire operation. His restraint had been commended, as was the design of the walker. The board had been very impressed.

He had just gotten out of his interview with grandfather, who also had been delighted with the positive report the board had given him, and had praised him in equal terms. He'd been trying so hard to please and impress everyone with his gadgets and inventions, that being praised for doing nothing had been a surprise. An interesting puzzle on adult behavior for him to ponder.

After reminding Terra that he was now Terra and no longer Tango, the board had also commended his discipline in following the orders of the mission commander. They referred the exciting news of his seemingly rapid acquisition of the knowledge on how to handle and fire the AK-47s to Von Richter and the Technos for analysis. They hustled him out to the firing range immediately after he testified, but the final report was not expected for a few more days.

Based on Grizelda's report, Kayla also had received warm praise. They agreed with the mission commander that she be re-graded on Spying and Stealth, and jocularly warned Grizelda that Kayla might be the team leader next time. Her vital role in mission planning was also noted with approval, and she was invited to take Leadership training whenever she wanted. The invitation alone was regarded as a high honor among the Cybers, for only the most promising and the best were allowed to attend.

Grizelda, while praised for excellent decision making in the field and team leadership, had been mildly rebuked for not establishing an "all clear" signal to tell the others when it was safe to communicate with them. She nodded in agreement with that assessment. It was also added to the training of several topics, and she was also invited to take Leadership training at her convenience.

Jose's heart sunk when the board began to tear into Cybersix. Having been on the receiving end of such scoldings, he sensed her hurt as they hit her with one criticism after another.

They found that she had failed to properly train Cyberdragon on the use of the communications equipment. In fact, her use of the Special for reconnaissance on the mission was openly criticized, sweeping aside the fact that father had told her to select a team of Specials. She should have known, they said, that he would have approved the use of an additional Cyber for reconnaissance if she had felt it necessary. They dismissed the fact that her conversation with father had led her to believe that no such Cyber was available, since they noted that there were other ways to accomplish the same end without an extra team member that she had failed to consider.

They were not impressed with Terra's positive testimony about her attempt to provide a diversion to give the penetration team a chance to escape. She should have had Terra shoot from the cover of the jungle they pointed out, rather than endanger herself. Worse yet, the incident showed that she had failed to take advantage of newly discovered capabilities in those under her command. This was inexcusable given the fact that those subordinates were all Specials, who were always monitored for such surprises as a matter of policy.

But all these would have been irrelevant if she had recognized the possibility that a watchtower was under the tree. She should either have performed the reconnaissance herself or directed the penetration team to check the situation out first. Reliance on Cyberdragon was uncalled for, given the existence of a cyber trained in reconnaissance on each team. They pointed out that the assumption that Cornazon was smart was overly broad, since she could have reasonably assumed that he would be very cautious instead, electing to have partial coverage rather than settle for no coverage at all. Which, in fact, was one of the principles that governed the security arrangements of all of Von Richter's own installations.

To her credit, they highly approved of her selection of the team members, approved of the ingenious way Terra was employed, and did not fault the mission planning. Based on what could be known, they agreed that she and Kayla did an excellent job of planning the mission. Her failure was in not being aggressive enough to recognize the gaps in her tactical knowledge, nor in taking reasonable actions to fill in those gaps.

Jose felt like crying when he saw her lower her head, cheeks blushing red, as they stripped her of her Leadership ranking. To add insult to injury, they made her failures the main subject of the next refresher training course for the cybers in the field, broadcasting her punishment far and wide to each and every one of her cyber brothers and sisters. Then they rubbed it in when they incorporated those failures into basic training courses so that nobody would forget for years! Different parts of the mission were added as a planning exercise to theTactics and Leadership courses. You'd think once was enough, but no, some would see her getting hammered two or three times before their training was over!

"I should have gotten in closer for a better look!" Cyberdragon complained as they gathered outside of the training building where the inquiry had taken place. She had suffered a few cuts on the skin covering her wing bones and a few tears in her sails, but they were healing far more quickly than expected. Half of her bandages had come off during the course of the inquiry.

"It was night and they had the lights off." He had tried to point out, "And if you'd gotten closer, they'd have seen you!" He turned and gave the building the finger, "Who do they think they are?" he fumed. He was THAT CLOSE to getting the walker out and using the missiles on THEM!

"20-20 Hindsight." Kayla had shrugged, "What did you expect?"

"Yeah, but you'd think they'd wipe the crap off their stupid butts before using them to look with!" Grizelda complained, "I'd like to roll their damn report up into a nice tight tube and stuff it up their- Hey Six!"

Jose had turned with everyone else, but she was walking away, her head bent and shoulders slumped. He knew exactly how she felt at that moment. All the mean, insulting words he had thrown at her to help bolster his puny ego came flooding back to him.

_"I should have run after her. To tell her everything would be okay. That I thought she was wonderful! That I was so sorry for every mean word that I ever said!"_ He thought ruefully. "AAAARRRGGHHH!" He grabbed at his hair and jumped up and down in anger and frustration, "WHY AM I SO STUPID?"

"Juno not stupid."

He glanced around, and realized he was in the garden. Terra was rising up out of the ground near a large bird-of-paradise bush and flowed over to him, "Board said Juno was good in obeying orders, just like Tango did. The Board said the walker was a good thing too."

If it had been anybody else except a mission member, Jose would have slugged them. As it was, he laughed and ran his hand through his hair, "You weren't there after the meeting to see Cybersix, did you Terra, er Tango?"

"No. Had to go to shooting range. Tango did well. Just like Sierra, they said."

"Really?" that was an interesting fact, "Exactly like Cyb- um Sierra?"

"Yes. What happened to Sierra?"

"She was very sad and didn't want to talk to us. I was mad because I should've gone after her and helped make her feel better."

"Yes, Tango notice." He started to shake, "Tango is worried about Sierra."

_"You and half of the compound."_ Jose thought, "I am too. I've got to talk to grandfather and tell him I can't find her. He wants to see her."

"Tango will tell Sierra when Tango sees Sierra." Terra promised.

"Thanks Tango. Oh, remember not to use the code names in front of everyone else, okay?"

"Tango will not." Terra promised, sinking back into the earth.

Maria was at the screen door when Jose ran up the steps, "Did you find her, Jose?"

"No Gramma." Jose shook his head, "I can't find her. She was scheduled to tutor Fixed Idea-88 at 11:30, and it was about 12 when I got there. She wasn't there, and not in her office either."

"I called her dorm. She's not in her room either." Maria looked pensive, "It's not like her to miss a private session with a student."

"I've got to tell Grandfather." He told her, kicking off his shoes.

"What in the world?" she exclaimed.

Jose turned to look, and blinked in astonishment.   
-----------   
_"That was a so-so lunch."_ Kayla thought sourly as she walked back to work from lunch, _"That and everybody just quiet and eating by themselves."_ It was almost spooky, the unusual silence that dominated the cafeteria

She stopped by the long glass window to look at her 512 CPU Linux Beowulf cluster farm. She then looked down at the humidity meter and groaned. No wonder the computers were giving her fits! The humidity had been high for days, and she hadn't noticed. Better have some technos look at the dehumidifier train again. It didn't help that she'd been away for several days, first with the rescue, then sitting and answering questions from the Training Board members on their stupid inquiry. Out of curiosity, she had hacked into Cyberdragon's spec files after she had escaped them. Cyberdragon's night vision scores were three times better than a Cyber's. If Cyberdragon couldn't have seen that watchtower under the tree without giving herself away, then a cyber sure couldn't have!

_"Damn by-the-book assholes."_ She thought as she turned to enter the computer control room, _"I suppose if you're gonna make a mistake, then you'd better do it while going by the damned book!"_

Cornazon was probably cannier than anybody had thought. Why conceal the watchtower under the tree so well, that NOBODY would see it until it was too late? The southeast corner was the best way to come in and go out. _"Hmm, I wonder if-"_ "OH CRAP!" she exclaimed with exasperation when she entered her domain, "Who's the idiot Idea that grabbed my katana _AGAIN?_" Giving that demonstration of Ninja sword skills using her singing Katana had been a mistake, she thought angrily. Every Fixed Idea now just HAD to hold it, gawk at it, and listen to it. She had caught one holding it, and he'd dropped it when she'd yelled at him: the mark was still in the floor in front of where it was hung.

_"But I'll getcha THIS time!"_ she gloated. She'd mounted a webcam to take snapshots of that wall every two seconds, match up successive shots, cache any that showed differences, and go into movie taking mode. Hopefully, she'd get a glimpse of their tattoo as they reached for the katana.

With a chuckle, she went to the big screen console and checked the directory where the file should have been stored, _"Yep! There's a file! A smart one too!"_ she noted the timestamp,_ "Came in several minutes after I left for lunch. Let's take a look at you!"_ She double-clicked the file.

Her smile dissolved into dismay as the image of the culprit appeared on the screen, "Oh NO!" she moaned.

She began to call up programs, copy files, and type in commands, her heart pounding in her chest. She then dashed out of the computer center and started leaping across the compound toward the main Residence.

She landed at the foot of the main staircase and ran up to Maria and Jose.

"Kayla, What's wr-" Maria started.

"NO TIME!" she gasped, pushing by them and bounding up the stairs.

Quaren went into a battle stance, relaxing only a little when she saw Kayla, "What's the problem?" She demanded.

"Gotta talk to Father! NOW!" Kayla insisted.

"Wait! You can't just go barging in!" Quaren stepped in front of the door.

"It's important!"

"But he's expecting-" Quaren started.

"LET HER IN, QUAREN!" Came Von Richter's voice from within the room.

Quaren shrugged and opened the door to let in Kayla. She held it open when she saw Maria and Jose coming up the steps.

Kayla ran up to Von Richter, who was staring at his monitor while on the phone, yelling, "-OF THAT! I DON'T CARE WHAT THE SCHEDULE IS! GET YOUR DAMN TAILS IN HERE THIS MINUTE!" He slammed the phone onto the hook and turned to Kayla, "When did this happen?"

"About thirty minutes ago, while I was eating lunch." She leaned over and typed in the unlock code to his computer. Von Richter then activated a program and typed in his password.

Maria and Jose walked up, "What's going on, Kay-OH!" She gasped, hand going to her mouth.

Jose gawked at the image of Cybersix on the monitor walking up to the wall, taking a katana, and turning to leave. The look of sad determination on her face frightened him.

"The singing one." Kayla murmured, "She took the singing one. It's so sharp-" she stopped.

_"It'll slice through cyber flesh and bone like a hot knife through butter."_ Jose thought, shivering.   
-----------   
_"It-it's all for the best."_

Cybersix stopped and bent over, panting just a little. The katana hummed as it slid off her back and slapped her side. She turned her head and gazed at the long, wrapped handle. She swallowed hard.

_"I can't stop the pain. There'd be problems if I-"_

She jerked her head, _"They know! Better keep going!"_

Slinging the katana back onto the center of her back, she continued leaping through the jungle understory.

_"So many problems now… It'd be better if I was gone."_

She could hear the roar of the falls in the distance.

_"Not far. Need just a little more time."_   
-----------   
The high power, ultrasonic siren pulsed its silent message of alarm throughout the valley that held the compound.

The Fixed ideas dropped their axes, hoes, saws, and other tools. They started running to the main Residence.

The Techos carefully put down their test tubes, measuring instruments, and notepads. They pulled off their lab coats and tossed them into the hampers next to the Laboratory exits as they came out.

The young cybers gleefully abandoned their classes, lessons, and combat training sessions to follow their instructors.

Cyberdragon cocked her head, stalled, wheeled about, and pumped her wings to get more speed, wondering if she had missed something or someone. A feeling of dread arose in her heart.

"Oh SHIT! That can't be good!" Grizelda spun around and sprinted back along the path she had come.

Terra reared out of the garden like a huge, living wave of mud. He threw himself onto the upper balcony and pulled the rest of himself onto it.   
----------   
The jungle gave way to giant, moss covered boulders as Cybersix arrived at the falls near the compound. _"Just a few more minutes."_ she thought as she looked up the gray granite walls next to the falls. Up to the small ledge three quarters of the way to the top that hung out over the thundering, falling waters that crashed with a roar several hundred feet below her. She threw a glance at the sky, confirmed that no one was searching for her, then began to leap up the wall, nimble as a mountain goat.   
-----------   
"I didn't think she'd take it that hard!" Cyber-91 shook his head.

"If you'd listened to me and 738 and just suspended her, this wouldn't have happened!" Cyber-74 snapped back.

"She acted negligently!" 91 insisted, "We agreed on that, didn't we?"

"SHUT UP!" Kayla shouted at them, She glared at them and wiped her tears away, "Just-shut-UP!"

"Has anyone seen Cybersix around lunchtime?" Von Richter asked through the microphone. Quaren had wheeled Von Richter out onto the balcony overlooking the crowd of his children who were gazing up at him. Maria was standing behind him, wiping at her cheeks and trying to stay calm.

A Fixed Idea raised his hand, "Uh, I did!"

"Where? Which way was she going?"

He scratched his head, then pointed.

Cyberdragon jumped off the balcony and soared into the air, Big Bird leaping off after her.

"Not good." Grizelda shook her head, "Toward the falls." She leaped off the balcony, landed on the ground, then started leaping toward the jungle, followed by Kayla and the board members. Cyber instructors yelled out orders, organizing the Cyber trainees into a search chain while the others returned to their duties, pensive and plainly worried.

"All we can do is wait now." Von Richter sighed.

Maria leaned over the balcony, "287!" she called.

A Fixed Idea housekeeper stopped and turned toward her.

"Did you find a note in her desk or bed?" Maria asked.

She shook her head sadly, waving her arms helplessly.

"Oh God!" Maria covered her eyes and turned quickly into the house.

"What's wrong?" Jose asked anxiously, "Don't they always leave a note?"

"Not always." Maria shook her head, "I think, if you don't leave a note, you just want to be forgotten."   
----------------   
Cybersix swung the katana against the hard granite wall. Stone fragments flew everywhere as the katana moaned it's deadly song, cutting a deep groove into the stone. She swung again to widen the gash.

Picking a spot, she rammed the hilt of the katana deep into the gash. She then stepped back and around to stand in front of the naked blade.

She gazed for a long moment at it, the tip hanging in the air mere inches from her skin. She then looked around at the living, green expanse all around her. In the distance, she saw the perpetual fog cloud that hid the compound.

_"Your Leadership Ranking is permanently revoked."_

_"Revoked."_

_"Revoked."_

She moaned, turned away from the view, and flung herself at the blade.   
--------------   
Cyberdragon's keen eyes swept the jungle, while Big Bird, surrounded by a squawking multitude of jungle birds flew through the understory, flickering in and out of view.

A flash of silver! Where? She was too far away from the falls, but began to beat her wings anyway, trying to coax more speed out of them.

It seemed like an eternity before she got close enough to spot the gleam of silver against the gray bulk of the granite wall. _"It's so close to the falls!" _she thought as she angled toward it.   
----------   
When the Cybers finally arrived at the foot of the falls, Cyberdragon was sitting on a boulder, face in her hands. Big Bird was cooing gently, patting her head and trying to comfort her.

At their grim looks, Big Bird just shook its head and pointed upwards to the ledge high above their heads.   
----------   
Von Richter sat at his desk and looked out the window over the compound.

_"These last few days have been hell."_ He thought sadly, pushing his wheelchair away from the desk and rolled it in front of another window that looked out over the cemetery.

The honor guard of four Cybers, standing at the four corners of the freshly dug grave, looked uncomfortable between the Two Technos and Two Fixed Ideas standing between them. Having to stand at attention, they looked detached and uninvolved compared to the somber, respectful appearance of Cybersix's former students. Protocol dictated that the Cyber honor guard be terminated after 72 hours, but Von Richter doubted that the protocol would be honored by the Technos and Fixed Ideas.

That scene summed up the emotional mood of the compound since the discovery of the katana embedded into the granite next to the falls. There was no trace of the body. Kayla wanted nothing to do with the katana any more, and a shocked Dr. Zacharias understood completely. They buried it next to Cyber-29, for lack of anything better on which to focus their grief, since it was literally covered with her blood. The Cybers, true to their military orientation, had to be stoic about it, leading to the mistaken impression, and rising resentment, among the others that they didn't give a damn about her. Not true at all: Maria was exhausted trying to comfort the stream of cybers that risked discipline by breaking curfew after taps to sneak to the residence by twos and threes at all hours of the night to cry their hearts out on her shoulder.

"It's so hard." She had told him that morning, "The question that keeps coming up is 'Why? Why did she believe we didn't love her anymore?' They look at me with those beautiful black eyes you gave them, and I just can't help but remember her."

And then she cried on his shoulder until she had fallen asleep herself from exhaustion.

Sighing, he turned his wheelchair around and rolled it back to his desk. On it was a fake-leather lab book and a thin report outlining the findings of the latest Cyber Training Board inquiry. He picked the report up and reread the sections he had highlighted.

**"The scene indicates that Cyber 6 impaled herself on the katana, it being sharp enough to easily pierce any ribs that it might encounter, as well as allow smooth, unimpeded withdrawal from her body. Since her body was not found, it is conjectured that severance of the spine had not occurred. The assumption that either the heart or a major artery were pierced imposes a limit of 30 seconds of active mobility before unconsciousness and death results. Given the amount of blood present on the katana itself, on the granite wall into which it was secured, and in the pool at the base of the wall under the katana, the board conjectures she allowed herself to bleed internally and externally for 25 seconds. The remaining five seconds leaves adequate time for her to pull herself off the katana and jump into the falls.**

**"The board conjectures that Cyber 6 acted in this manner to ensure her demise and to not leave her body behind. Had she jumped into the falls without employing the katana, there is no doubt that instinct would have taken over and forced her to save herself. The chances of survival, although not assured, were very high, for Cyber 6 maintained her leadership training and physical readiness at a military-action level, even while being on a special assignment status that did not require this level of readiness. Only by inflicting this severe wound upon herself could she be sure that her chances of survival were near to zero: unconsciousness would probably have resulted upon impact at the base of the falls, if not before then.**

**"This inquiry would be remiss if it did not report, with great regret, that Cyber 6 surely suffered great physical pain during these last 25 seconds of her life. Computer models of Cyber heart design indicate that the heart would continue to beat, despite being pierced by the katana. The continued contractions around the blade would inflict pain equivalent to a sustained and continuous heart attack. Death comes from shock, due to loss of blood and the accompanying drop of blood pressure, not from the cessation of heart function. Extreme respiratory distress from a collapsed left lung should not be discounted….**

**"The board respectfully requests that current Cyber psychological models be re-evaluated in the light of this tragedy, and that Leadership teaching modules be revised accordingly. Nothing in the models or in the experience of the board members indicated that she would react in this manner. We humbly suggest, as a start, that the circumstances surrounding her extended special assignment might have violated some assumptions, altered some critical variables, or introduced some unknown and unforeseen factors unaccounted for in the models. This knowledge would not have altered, in any way, the findings or the discipline of the previous inquiry that lead to this unfortunate occurrence. However, the training board assures everyone whose hearts have been saddened by this terrible loss that preparations would have been made beforehand to forestall this tragic train of events.**

**"The board acknowledges its failure to properly monitor Cyber 6, or assign a Leadership Rank Cyber to monitor her during her extended special assignment and afterwards. The members regretfully conclude that this alone would have played a large, if not decisive, part in forestalling this sad incident. The board members hereby appoint the Drill Instructors to monitor us during this difficult time. We also will unconditionally submit to any further discipline imposed by superior command. The protocols of Training Board Inquiries have been modified to ensure that monitoring is in place at the start of any inquiry and continues as long as necessary.**

**"The board also acknowledges the lack of a psychological profile of Cyber 6 during her last four days of life in this report. We admit our inadequacy in this area, and leave the task to others better qualified than we. Like everyone else, we are at a total loss to try and explain her feelings and thoughts that drove her to do this to herself."**

Von Richter sighed again and tossed the report back onto his desk. He then picked up the lab book and began paging through it. It had been discovered by the Fixed Idea responsible for running the garbage processor and recycling center, and had been retrieved to ensure that it had not been accidentally discarded. The head techno took one look at it before calling him. It did not contain lab notes.

It was Cybersix's daily journal.

He paused to look at the entries. Some detailed delight in the progress of her students. Others were notes to herself on improving her modified phonics reading plan. All were written in her small, neat, rounded cursive writing style that looked almost ornamental, and which delighted the artistic eye.

Sadly, there were too many entries where she openly wondered about her place in the world. She was plainly uncomfortable being a cyber unconnected with that for which she had been created, raised, and trained.

There was an entry just before the mission, hastily scribbled in, where she expressed her hopes that all would go well, but also her pride at being chosen to lead the mission.

The worst entries were after that. The first entry after the mission was an excruciatingly explicit detailing of her failings that seemed to predict the findings of the inquiry that was just starting when she wrote it. The last sentences in that entry read: "I hope I don't lose my leadership ranking over this. I don't know how I'll handle losing that. It's the only thing I have to show that I'm worth a damn as a Cyber."

The next entry: "They did it! they took it away! Oh, what am I going to do? Who am I? What am I worth to anyone? How can I face my brothers and sisters after this?" Her handwriting was agitated, strained. It had lost its ability to enchant the reader by its very appearance alone.

Von Richter closed the book before reading the last entry that complained of the aloneness and pain she was feeling, _"I failed you, my dear child. How could you be alone surrounded by so many who loved you so much that their grief is stressing the bonds between themselves and your Cyber sisters and brothers? I'm starting to see discontent even within the Cyber ranks!_

_"And I had such hopes for you. Your reluctance to kill Cornazon and his men revealed the kind of caring for Normals that I was seeking for so long. Although there are some who can take my place and lead our family after I am gone, they would be followed only out of a sense of duty. But you, you they would have followed out of love, born from the love and concern you showed them. Were you aware of the bonds you were weaving in the classroom and private tutoring sessions that knit their hearts together through a common experience, and in turn knit themselves to you as their leader and friend? If you had done well with Amato, I could have died happy, knowing that I had left my family, and my world, in gentle, capable hands._

_"Your hands._

_"But now you are gone._

_"I feel so poor…"_   



	5. of Dark Branch

"Hi Dr. Zack!"

Dr. Zacharias looked up from his copy of the "Journal of Quantum Mechanics", "Hello Lucas!" he waved at a chair on the other side of the outdoor lunch table, "It's not taken."

"Thanks!" Lucas Amato slid into the chair across from the professor, "So, how are things going for you?" he asked, opening his lunch bag and fishing out a bag of potato chips.

Dr. Zack sighed, "Fall Fever as usual!" he grimaced, waving to the students lying about on the grass or playing frisbee, "Can't keep anybody's attention with the days being like they are! If they're not mooning about with the weather, they're mooning about each other!"

"Yeah. This is the worst time to talk about the birds and the bees!"

Dr. Zack chuckled, "I think I'll have to demonstrate gravity by dropping two objects out the window, with everyone outside looking on to make sure they hit the ground at the same time!"

"I know what you mean. Even Lori's starting coming on to me again."

Dr. Zack rolled his eyes with amusement, "I'm glad I can't have your problems!"

"Thanks!" Lucas started eating a banana. "What do you think of the new batch of teachers?"

Dr. Zack nodded and smiled, "I think they'll do well."

"What about the new English Lit teacher you've been raving about?"

"Couldn't make it."

"Sorry to hear that." Lucas said, noting a hint of sadness and regret in the older man's voice. Dr. Zack was secretive enough to arouse any man's curiosity, but Lucas decided this was something far too private to pry into any further. He took out and unwrapped his sandwich.

"Luckily, someone was able to hold the position temporarily." Dr. Zacharias said brightly.

"Oh? Who?" Lucas asked, taking a bite.

"Hi!" A cheerful, feminine voice greeted the two men.

Lucas turned to see the source, did a double take, and almost choked on his salami and cheese sandwich.

"Ahh, Elaine! How nice to see you!" Dr. Zacharias greeted her, pulling out the empty chair between him and Lucas.

"MMpth, aaahh!" Lucas nodded, eyes starting to bug and water at the same time.

"Are you okay?" she asked, bending over him. She swept a long lock of red hair out of her face with one hand while putting the other on his shoulder.

"I'm-Ack-fine!" he said, hastily swallowing.

"You sure?"

"If he can speak, he's okay." Dr. Zack said, not as anxious as Elaine was over Lucas' condition. Elaine slid into the chair Dr. Zack had pulled out, "Lucas, this is Elaine Schweitzer, our temp for English Literature. Elaine, this is Lucas Amato, our Biology teacher."

"H-h-hello!" Lucas stammered.

"Hi again!" she said, holding out her hand. Lucas took it, "I just wanted to meet my fellow teachers!"

"Uh, Yeah! Nice to meet you too!"

Dr. Zacharias bit into an apple in a valorous effort not to collapse into laughter. He picked up his magazine and continued to read the article written by one of his sworn enemies. Everyone on QuaNet was raving about the results, but something didn't seem quite right about it.

"So, you're biology, Room 317?" She asked Lucas.

"Yes!"

"I thought so. I'm room 321, just two doors down!"

"Th-that's nice!"

Dr. Zacharias was half listening to the conversation. The author was only using third order tensors as values and plugging them into a fifth order polynomial, so his mind was only half occupied.

"Ummm, can I have my hand back?"

"Uhhh, oh yeah!" He let go. "Umm! Elaine! A nice name!"

"I'm glad you approve! My mother thought so too!"

The bell rang.

"There's the bell! I, ah, gotta go now! Maybe-Can I see you later?" Lucas got up and almost spilled his lunch over his lap.

"I'll be working here. I can't see why not!"

"Ah, that's good! Umm, Room 321, you said?"

Dr. Zacharias tisked and shook his head, comparing the equations on one page with what was on the preceding one.

"Two doors down from yours." She confirmed, smiling.

"Yes, just two doors."

"You are going to be late, Mr. Amato." Dr. Zacharias said from behind his periodical.

"YES! LATE! Ahh, see ya late! I mean later!" Lucas backed away toward the building.

"Bye!" Elaine waved.

Lucas stumbled and almost fell backing over a tree stump. He laughed nervously, turned around, and strode to the building quickly.

"I think he likes you." Dr. Zacharias observed. The cretin had miscopied an exponent and nobody had noticed, including the reviewers.

"Umm hmm!" she said appraisingly, "That JPEG Kayla had doesn't do him justice. I always thought there was something cute about Fixed Ideas."

"Honestly, I'd have thought Lucas would have taken your appearance in smoother stride." Dr. Zacharias turned the page, nodding. The idiot was already an order of magnitude off, and he had gone and switched a sign on another exponent, doubling the error.

Elaine had been briefed on Dr. Zacharias, because he was her point of contact, as well as one of their most important and valuable human allies. Normally, Elaine would have written Dr. Zacharias off as either a homosexual or a victim of castration. However, in his briefing, Von Richter had sternly warned her against jumping to such conclusions, _""I cannot go into detail,' He had said, 'But suffice it to say that there is only one woman in the world that's currently occupying his heart, so don't criticize him because it isn't you.'"_ The world was full of interesting men, presenting many delightful possibilities. At the moment, Lucas was the one interesting her the most: The brain of a Techno housed in a body built along the lines of a Fixed Idea. More or less. Delightful possibilities indeed. He just might make up for being away from Yellowstone and her beloved wolves.

Dr. Zacharias nodded to himself and put the magazine down to drink his juice. Naturally, the fool had gone ahead and concluded that the probability of the particle's existence was about 10%, which put the results into the category of the probable. In reality, it was very close to zero, if not zero. That, in Quantum Mechanics, was the same as saying that its uncle was a unicorn. "Well, the fact that he likes you makes your task that much easier." He said, "At least get him to stop that ridiculous series of articles."

"I read them," Elaine frowned, "They DO seem rather unusual, but I can't put my finger on the reason."

"Think you're up to teaching English Lit?"

Elaine swallowed. Her throat suddenly felt dry. "I-I like to think I was taught by one of the best." She said.

He emptied his juice a little too hastily, "And how is everyone taking it?" he asked more quietly, leaning toward her.

She shook her head, "Not good. Not good at all. The Technos and Fixed Ideas are pissed off at the Cybers, the Cybers are furious at the Training Board, and Jose and Grizelda are spinning everybody up. Nobody's seen Terra for days. Father is having a terrible time trying to stabilize the situation, but being in that damn wheelchair-" she paused, then continued, "Mealtime used to be such a wonderful time together. But now-" she sighed, "the atmosphere is so tense and poisoned, one may as well not eat for all the good it does."

She reached out and put her hand on his, "And how are you taking it?" she asked. Finding out was one of her mission orders.

"I-I never knew her, although from the papers she submitted to be hired, it was clear she was an extraordinary person who would have been a delightful colleague and friend." He looked away, "I wish I had never-"

She squeezed his hand, being careful not to break any bones, "You wanted Kayla to have the best, and you gave her the best. If you'd never made that katana, she would have used something else. Besides," Elaine put on a brave smile, "The thing was too damn loud for Kayla's line of work anyway."

Dr. Zack laughed, "You're right about that!" He put his other hand on hers, "When you talk to your father, let him know I'm ready to help him in any way I can."

"I will. Which reminds me." Elaine looked serious, "I went by the Troddens to see my niece. They told me someone had stolen their shipment of sustenance."

Dr. Zack frowned, "Did they get Fedex to trace it?"

"Yes. Delivery records say it had arrived at their doorstep at the usual time."

"How much?"

"12 Vials."

"Damn. That's not good." Pound for pound, the stuff was eighty times more powerful than TNT, "We need to add a radio tracer or something like that on all our packages. It was probably taken by a street person or orphan looking for something valuable to sell."

Elaine swallowed when she heard the words "we" and "our". _"A normal who thinks as if he was one of us. We're so lucky."_ She thought. Aloud, she added, "I'm not too sure about the orphan, but I AM worried about them. Do you have a few vials to spare until their next shipment?"

"Of course. I'll walk some by this afternoon." He assured her, "Come by if you come up short too."

"Thanks."

"Now what makes you think it wasn't a orphan or street person who stole it?"

She sighed mightily, "I may have sugar coated the problems we're having because she committed suicide."

"Sugar coated?! How could it be worse?"

"Five of her batch mates have not acknowledged receiving the news. Kayla did a computer search, and three are turning up AWOL. Two are from nations adjacent to ours."

"Oh no!" Dr. Zacharias had been impressed with the military-oriented dedication of the Cybers. For one to go AWOL seemed incredible, "Batch mates?"

"You know that Cybers, Technos, and Types are grown in batches of 500, right?"

"Yes."

"To ensure variations between everyone, the first 50 are given special attention to be unique. The DNA of the following sets of 50 are minor variations on the first 50. Cyber 50 is much different from Cyber 49, but Cyber 100 is just a minor variation on Cyber 50, as is 150, 200, and so on. Get the idea?"

"Yes." he nodded, "I suppose, then, that batch mates are particularly fond of each other?"

"It depends. The six and 1022 batch sets are unusual in that all the batch mates are very, very close to each other." Elaine shrugged, "And the 509 batch mates can't stand each other. Goes both ways."

"So you think the thief is one of these AWOL batch mates of hers?"

"Very likely. They need sustenance to survive, and everyone knows of three places where it can be found."

Dr. Zacharias nodded, "The compound, because that's where it's made. My place, because I'm doing research on it. And the Troddens, because everyone knows Bethany."

Elaine looked distressed, "Please don't panic, Dr. Zacharias. The six batchset has some very high compassion and empathy scores, and find it difficult to harm anyone. Cybersix was the only one of the batch that attained leadership ranking, so her losing it, and then committing suicide, must have hit them very hard."

"What can I do?"

"If you encounter any, just tell them it's okay. Tell them they're forgiven, and that we'll make it right. Tell them to please come home again."

"I will." He nodded, touched by her earnestness.

"I guess I'd better get ready for my first class. Thanks, Dr. Zacharias!"

"Good bye, and good luck!"

Dr. Zacharias watched Elaine leave. Pretty, but not a replacement for-

He hastily gathered his trash together and his magazine. Better get on QuaNet to tell everyone about the goofs in the article before somebody decided to add a few billion Euros worth of upgrades to the main CERN ring to look for a nonexistent particle. The problem now was how to present the unpleasant truth while implying that the zero probability also represented the author's IQ without flat-out saying so.

Then he'd have to figure out how to deliver the sustenance to the Troddens without Bethany seeing him. The kid has over 10000 aunts and uncles, but HE'S the only one with whom she wants to play "horsey"!   



	6. of Dark Branch

"Come on, mama! We'll be late!" Mr. Diortti fretted.

"Papa! We always leave at the same time, go the same way, stop at the same lights, and get there at the same time!" Mrs. Diortti remonstrated, puffing from the brisk walk, "Twenty minutes early! Ah! To just retire!"

"Pah! To retire is to die! Look at Manuel, and Frisco! Rotting in their rocking chairs!" He looked both ways after the pedestrian light changed, then led his wife across the street.

"At least let's have a vacation!" she sighed, "To the beach or to the mountains! It would do us good!"

"Perhaps good for the body. Of course good for the soul. But not good for the bank account! AHHH!" He cried out upon arriving at his small diner, "Get AWAY from my store front, trash!"

The girl leaning against the lamppost stood up straight and looked at Mr. Diortti, eyes wide.

"Now, now papa! Be nice and don't make a scene!" Mrs. Diortti tried to calm him down, looking apologetically at the girl while putting her hand on his arm.

"This used to be a good neighborhood, but whores, pimps, and druggies like YOU are ruining it!" he shook her hand off and wagged a finger in the girl's face.

She pursed her lips and glanced up and down the street. She then shook her head at him, and leaned back against the post.

"Heh heh!" Yvette chuckled, nudging Maureen, "Looks as if the newbie's run into Papa Don Diortti!" she pointed across the street at the scene unfolding in front of Don's Snack Shoppe.

"Newbie is right!" Maureen yawned, "Look at that plain getup she's got on! Half the tricks are gonna pass her by thinking she's waiting for a boyfriend or parent!"

"Ummm. Doesn't look half bad, though." Estella walked up, "After all, it's what's under the hood and how sweet it runs is all that a trick's interested in, right?"

"I suppose. How much ya think she's chargin?"

"Better let her know."

"Nah, let Ricco let her know."

There were chuckles all around at that.

Mr. Diortti entered his diner and began mopping the floor.

"Papa! You mopped it last night!" Mrs. Diortti sighed as she opened the safe and pulled out the cash register drawer.

"I know what I'm doing!"

"PAPA!"

But Mr. Diortti had already grabbed the dirty pail of water and had flung the contents out the door toward the lamppost. He stuck his head out to let out a short laugh and a retort before noticing that his intended victim was stepping back to her lamppost, quite dry. He ignored the look she threw at him and bustled back indoors.

Business was very good that morning. Customers streamed in and out of the diner, picking up pre-made breakfast and lunch boxes, or sitting in for the blue plate special. "At least nobody is saying anything about that tramp outside!" he whispered to his wife as he closed the cash register after another sale.

"That's because the poor girl is not there most of the time." She whispered back.

He stopped a moment to reflect, and realized that it was true.

The mood was not so pleasant outside, "Damn!" Estella muttered to Maureen, "What the HELL is she doing? Giving away freebies? Half the tricks are going with HER!"

"Beats me! Two of them are my regulars. Damn bitch! That's another of my regulars she's angling for!"

The girl and Maureen's regular were talking. She shook her head and pointed up the street toward them. He looked reluctant and began to walk toward them.

"Hiya Reefer!" Maureen greeted him, "Need some relaxin' before the big deal?"

"Hi Maureen. I dunno." He glanced back at the girl.

"Hey, it's a free country, but you get what you pay for." She pointed out, "Now THAT hussy is new around the block, and I can tell you can tell too, right?"

"Yes…" Reefer was still bemused.

"So what's she asking for?"

"Hmm, about two thirds of what you ask. Says she's new and needs to learn how to work the equipment."

"Oh really?" Maureen and Estella exchanged glances.

"And made a unique deal."

"Like what?" Estella asked, trying to make a play herself for Reefer.

"Fifty percent back if I showed her a new technique."

Estella swore under her breath.

"Well," Maureen said hastily, "Unless you can wait, she's unavailable now."

Reefer glanced back and saw the girl opening the door to her upstairs apartment for her latest customer. "Hmmm, maybe later. I'm in a hurry!" He turned to walk away.

"Hey Reefer, do me a favor?" Maureen asked.

"Whatcha want, other than a weddin' ring?"

Maureen laughed nervously, "Just tell me. What did she say about us?"

"That I should see either of you two if I really wanted a good time. 'Course I already knew that, right?"

"Right!" Maureen was stunned.

"Bye!" He walked briskly up the street.

"Do you believe THAT?" Estella gasped.

"Yeah."

"What do you make of it?"

"That she's a stupid bitch being in this business!" Maureen turned away.

_"I dunno, Mau-Mau."_ Estella thought, looking at the vacated lamppost thoughtfully, _"Playing up to the egos of her customers makes her a pretty smart bitch."_

------

"It's been a good day!" Mr. Diortti announced to his wife as he eyed the cash drawer contents before closing it. The afternoon lull had set in.

"Yes, for everyone." She replied, looking through the window. The girl was talking briefly with a customer. He hugged her and kissed her on the cheek before departing. She waved at him, then glanced into the store. Mrs. Diortti quickly made herself look busy.

The bell tinkled on the door. Mr. Diortti looked up and scowled, "WHAT do YOU want?"

Mrs. Diortti glanced up. It was the girl, standing hesitantly at the entrance.

"I'm hungry. I hear you have nice hamburgers here."

"You heard right. Nice hamburgers for nice people! You're not nice, though!"

"PAPA!" Mrs. Diortti rebuked him.

"I don't run a charity!"

"I can pay." She pulled out a few bills from her pocket.

"Her money is good, Papa! Sit down dear!"

"In the back!"

"Papa! She doesn't wear any less than our granddaughters do!" She turned to her, "Sit where ever you want, dear. A hamburger you say?"

"Yes, please." She said, walking to the back and sitting in a booth with her back to the door.

"Get her money first!"

"Papa!" Mrs. Diortti sighed as she prepared the hamburger.

Another customer walked in, "I need a fast delivery!" he announced, walking up to the cash register.

"Yes sir!" Mr. Diortti beamed, "What would you like?"

He pulled out a gun and shoved it into Mr. Diortti's chest, "Let's say everything you've got in the register!"

"Aaahhh!" Mrs. Diortti cried out, backing away.

"Shut up, old bag! Gimmie the money or I'll blow you away!"

"Hmph! I would rather-" Mr. Diortti puffed.

"Give it to him, papa!" Mrs. Diortti shook with fear.

"Listen to yer lady, old man!"

Scowling, Mr. Diortti opened the register and scooped out the large bills, slamming them on the counter. Chuckling, the robber grabbed the stack and backed away.

He turned to run, only to trip and sprawl headlong on the floor.

The girl, who had tripped him, dropped onto his back with her knees, pinned his face to the ground, reached over, and grabbed his wrist. He howled and bucked, but she hopped up into the air and came down heavily on his back. He loosened his grip on the gun, and she had it.

She shoved cold steel into the nape of his neck, "Now lie still, or I'll let some air into your thick skull!" she hissed, "Spread 'em!"

Obediently, he spread out onto the floor. She got up, gun still in his sight, stepped around, and planted a foot onto the hand still holding the money, "LET GO." She said in a tone of voice that would not brook disobedience, tapping the foot that was on his hand.

His fingers opened. Mr. Diortti lost no time retrieving his money. Mrs. Diortti was already on the phone to the police.

--------

"You'll have to come by and make a statement." Henrique pulled his prisoner to a halt by the door to talk with the Diorttis

"We will be glad to!" Mr. Diortti declared. Mrs. Diortti nodded.

"You'll regret it, old man!" the burglar muttered under his breath, "OW!" he howled as Henrique pulled up on his hands that were handcuffed behind him.

"Enough of that! We'll just add threatening a witness to grand larceny and using a weapon during a holdup!" Henrique said roughly, patting the weapon stuck in his back pocket, "If you haven't heard, our dear chief of police, just back from his vacation with Cornazon, has a nice fast track program for animals like you! Not that it ever was suspended during his absence, mind you." Henrique nodded to the couple, "You can come by anytime in the next several days. Have a nice afternoon!"

"Thank you Henrique!" Mrs. Diortti said.

"Well, we had to wait longer for this robbery than the last one!" Mr. Diortti remarked, "Maybe things ARE getting better!"

"I suppose!" Mrs. Diortti sighed. She walked to the back booth and put her hand on the girl's shoulder, "Are you enjoying that?" she asked, bending down.

"Umm hmmm!" she nodded, chewing on a bite she'd just taken on the hamburger.

"Now that's a good hamburger, isn't it?" Mr. Diortti asked her.

She swallowed, "Oh yes! Delicious!" she agreed, just before taking another bite.

"She's starving, papa! Let's let her eat."

"Of course! Of course!" he went back to recount the bills and compare them to the receipts. One large bill was missing, but he wanted to make sure he hadn't miscounted. Despite his bluster, he was still shaking from the experience.

She soon finished her hamburger and came up to the cash register, "How much do I owe you?" she asked, digging out some bills from her pocket.

"Well, let's see." Mr. Diortti ignored the look his wife shot at him, "One deluxe hamburger, fries, and two teas. Plus tax, that'll be 35.50."

She flipped through the bills and found a hundred.

"Oh!" he replied, slapping his forehead, "I forgot the afternoon lunch discount!" He made a big deal of hitting some keys. NO SALE came up on the display, "We owe you a deluxe meal, it seems!"

"But-" She held the bill out.

"You saved me over 900 catching that thief, plus giving us the pleasure of putting him away for a long time! I'm missing a single bill, I think, but last time I lost 580." He slammed the register shut, "Sorry, no refunds!"

"Weeell, okay. But I'll be back for that deluxe, you know!" She warned him, turning away to leave.

Mrs. Diortti shook her head, smiling, "Don, sometimes you set me spinning!"

"You always do!" he said, grabbing her by the waist and kissing her on the cheek. She chuckled softly.

"Oh! Pardon me!"

It was the girl. She was holding a fifty bill by her fingertips, "I found this under the booth seat over there." She bobbed her head in the general direction of the booth, "It must have spilled out of his hand when I tripped him."

It HAD been a fifty he was missing. Mr. Diortti sighed and took the bill, "I am sorry for my harsh words to you this morning." He apologized, "And for the dirty water too."

"That's okay." She said, "I didn't get wet."

"You are a nice girl in a bad business. I hope you go bust and find a better one soon." He said sincerely, "Until then, you won't find a better lamppost to stay under than the one in front of my shop."

She smiled, "Thank you."

She stepped outside, went to the lamppost, and leaned against it.

"Ahh! Where are my manners?" Mrs. Diortti sighed, "I'm getting old!"

"What, mama?"

"We never asked her for her name!"

"We'll ask tomorrow when she comes in for her lunch."

Mrs. Diortti wasn't sure, but she thought the girl held her head a little higher and prouder than before.   



	7. of Dark Branch

"Well, how are you doin' tonight, Mau-Mau?" Estella asked Maureen.

Maureen glanced at the new girl on the street, who was walking back to her lamppost just outside of Don's Snack Shoppe, "It'd be better if the competition wasn't around!"

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Y'know what really irritates me, though?"

"What?"

"Her tricks come out looking so damn _satisfied_!" Estella shook her head, "How many of those 50% refunds do you think she's handing out?"

"Fewer this morning than this afternoon, I'll bet. She looks like a quick learner. Looks a lot more confident now than she did this morning."

"Well, just wait 'til Ricco comes for his take!"

"HEY! My ears are itchin'! Did someone speak my name?" A blonde man wearing sunglasses walked up.

"Ricco! How nice to see you!" Maureen said in a tone of voice that indicated exactly the opposite.

"Helloooo ladies!" He slicked back his thickly gelled hair, "Time for the nightly collection!"

Estella and Maureen dourly counted out their proceeds and handed a large fraction over to Ricco.

"What's this?" he counted the money, then shot an ugly look at them, "You girls holdin' back? This is chicken feed! It's not nice holdin' out on Good Old Ricco, Ya know!"

Estella jerked her thumb over the shoulder, "New slut! Undercutting us by a third, AND handing out half off refunds to boot!"

"Ooohhh! Nice addition to our company!" Ricco lowered his sunglasses to glance at the girl appraisingly, "You Ladies'll now see and appreciate the benefits accumulatin' to bein' associated wit me!"

Yvette walked up, a huge grin on her face, "She's gonna get it now!"

"Know the routine?" Estella asked Maureen.

"By heart!" Maureen replied gleefully. "Ricco walks up to her and says."

From across the street, the women saw Ricco walk up to the girl, eye her up and down, then begin to speak.

"Hey baby! You lookin' good!" Maureen said, since he was too far away for them to hear.

The girl spoke back.

"Why thanks." Estella spoke for the girl. Yvette chuckled at this long distance commentary.

"Say, what you doin' on my street?" Maureen dubbed.

"What do you mean, your street?" Estella added while the girl spoke back to Ricco, standing up straight and waving her hand in their direction.

"All the girls work for me on this street." Maureen dubbed as Ricco talked to the girl, "You're a girl. You're working this street. You work for me."

The girl shook her head, "Not for you, slimeball." Estella dubbed as the girl spoke, adding, "Ricco slaps her right about now."

Ricco slapped the girl across the mouth, "OW!" Estella faked receiving a blow.

"Bingo. We sure know Ricco, don't we?" Maureen added. She then dubbed as Ricco talked to the girl, "You give me a third of your proceeds, plus auditions when I-"

The girl spun around and seemed to rise in the air. A leg shot out of the whirl, hitting Ricco in the chest and sending him flying against the wall.

"HEY! THAT'S NOT IN THE SCRIPT!" Yvette protested.

The girl landed on her feet, advanced, and rammed the heel of her hand against Ricco's mouth and nose as he bounced off the wall and came back toward her. He flew back against the wall again and stuck there for a long moment before slowly sliding down it, legs splaying wide.

The girl then advanced and kicked him hard between the legs, lifting him back up onto his feet.

"OOOHHH! I hear THAT hurts!" Estella gasped.

The girl tugged on the hem of her dress as Ricco slowly backed away, obviously muttering threats. He pointed a finger at her, yelling loud enough to be heard by the women "BITCH! I'M GONNA GET Y-"

The loud POP and Ricco's scream as the girl grabbed his index finger and jerked it into an unhealthy angle could also be heard from across the street.

"DAMN! I've gotta hear this!" Maureen started across the street. The other two hurried to catch up with the tall woman's long stride, joining the small crowd gathering around the two combatants.

Ricco was on his knees, still screaming as they got within earshot of the girl's words.

"-these women alone. You hear me?" the girl was stating matter of factly to him.

"YESSSS!! YESSSS!" Ricco nodded frantically.

She jerked at the finger warningly, "The money you've been taking from them. Hand it over! Now!"

He fumbled at his pockets and dumped the bills onto the sidewalk.

Her lips pursed angrily, and she jerked the finger violently, "ALL OF IT FROM THIS WEEK, BASTARD!"

He fished out a large roll of bills and dropped it onto the sidewalk too.

"Now you just get out of here and never show your face on this street again!" She released his finger.

He spat into her face, turned, and tried to run. In a flash, she was after him, one hand between his shoulder blades, the other at the small of his back. She began pushing him, running to force him to run faster. She then shoved hard. He flew down the street, legs and arms whirling like a windmill, obviously out of control. He stopped only when he hit the street light post at the corner, making it ring with a loud "BONG!" He staggered for a moment, then collapsed at the foot of the light.

She pulled her dress down again, wiped her face, then returned to the astonished crowd of prostitutes and street people, combing her black hair back into place with her fingers.

No one had dared touch the pile of money that Ricco had emptied out of his pockets. She just bent down, picked it all up, undid the roll, and counted it.

When she finished, she looked at the crowd, "Who worked for him?" she asked quietly.

Seven women either raised their hands or nodded.

"You don't any more. At least you don't as long as I'm here." She stated simply, "If he bugs you, let me know. Okay?" she glanced at the large wad of bills in her slim hands, "I'll have to split this up evenly, since I don't know who made what. Is that okay?"

They nodded blankly. She distributed the money as equally as possible, using a little of her own money to make it even rather than having to make small change.

When Maureen received her money, instead of thanking her, she said, "You know something? You're a really stupid bitch."

Everyone inhaled sharply, glancing between the girl and Maureen, expecting an explosion.

She didn't flinch, "I know I'm a stupid bitch. That's how I got here." She replied quietly as she pulled some small bills out of her pocket to even up Maureen's share.

Maureen shook her head and walked back to her spot.

"Hey Ramba! Welcome to our street!" Estella said nervously, receiving her share. She glanced at Maureen, "Don't worry about Maureen. She's upset some of her tricks went with you today."

"I'm a new face. New thrills." The girl said matter of factly, shrugging,"I know I'm not charging as much as you. I'll raise my prices soon, and we'll be even then."

"Yeah." Estella agreed, "Thanks!" she added, "I can pay the rent with this, it looks like!"

"Good. Maybe we'll talk later."

"Sure" Estella said, thinking _"Too bad" _as she mentally compared the new girl to herself and the others. Life on the street, with drugs and beatings an almost daily ritual, left many of the women battered and bruised looking. The new girl was unscarred, unblemished, fresh-faced and healthy looking, proud and unbent as she walked back and leaned against her lamppost. Her hair gleamed in the light as if she was a princess wearing a tiara. _"What a waste."_ She thought as she returned to her spot on the street, wondering what the girl would look like in a few months.   
--------------------   
Elaine stepped up to the open window and looked out over the rooftops across from her new apartment. She inhaled the night air and made a face, _"Damn city stinks of car fumes, rotting food, and shit of all types."_

She missed the clean air, the greenery, and the relative quiet she enjoyed as part of her job monitoring the re-introduced wolves at Yellowstone National Park. Some of the wolves had gotten used to the slight odor of car fumes from all the visitors, but the majority had their ranges deep in the back country. She didn't blame them, being unable to imagine any member of the canine family enjoying the act of reproduction if they had to stand the smell of burnt rotted prehistoric plants.

The spandex jumpsuit she wore expanded as she converted to her lupine form. She quickly leaped out of the window onto the roof opposite her apartment before anyone saw her long ears against the light of her apartment. Her ability to turn into something vaguely familiar and nonthreatening with great speed, strength, and mobility made her the perfect choice for monitoring the backcountry packs. Not that anybody other than her family and the wolves knew. She filed her reports, brought back incredible pictures, and kept her bosses happy. They were sorry to let her go on indefinite leave for family reasons, as were the rangers who replaced her. Some parts of the back country were wild and beautiful, with the emphasis on wild. She fancied they were thinking right now about all the pleasant times they had spent with her while they were thrashing around "out back".

_"One day,"_ she thought as she ran along a long factory roof, _"One day all these roofs will be covered with black cloth, drinking in the sunlight and storing it in batteries no bigger than a footstool. Then the factories, houses, cars, trucks, and motorcycles will be driven by the sun, and the power plants will no longer be needed." _The string of arcane equations for her piece of the solution came to her mind's eye, in letters burning like the first fire that started mankind on its upward path. All that was needed was for these to be joined with similar letters and schematics of fire that burned in the minds of five of her siblings, _"Then, the world will start to become fresh and clean again."_

It felt good to hold part of the solution to a great problem.

She leaped from roof to roof, trying to work out the cottony feeling all Cyber-derived beings got in their muscles if they had been inactive for more than 40 hours. At the same time, all her senses were alert, looking for suspicious activity. The wandering Cyber or Cybers in Meridiana would have the same nagging feeling, and most likely work it out in exactly the same way. Hopefully, she'd catch sight of them first and be able to get close enough to make the appeal for them to come home.

It was the only good time she could do it. The Cybers were masters of disguise and stealth, so there was no telling what they looked like during the day. That they all had the white, fair skin of their mother was not motivated out of racial bigotry, but of practicality: It was simply easier to make light skin dark than to lighten dark skin. They had their father's dark hair, and a grandparent's large, black eyes and relatively slender build, so they looked rather ordinary and didn't stand out like she did. Everything else was subject to change, either during their design or by application of their skills.

She paused on a rooftop to wipe back the long locks of red hair she still had in her lupine form. She got that from her mother, and felt rather proud, pleased, and grateful at the same time. SHE didn't mind standing out!

She glanced around. Amazing what the subconscious makes one do. She'd just happened to have wandered near the Trodden's mansion. She leaped around to the side, went through the known vunerable spot in the security system, and alighted in a tree in the back garden. Her eyes went to the nursery window, but it was dark. She imagined Bethany snug in bed as she turned and leaped back out the same way.

Something black flitted behind a chimney out the corner of her eye. _"Of course! A cyber, wandering or not, would be attracted to their only niece like flies to honey!"_ She changed direction as she leaped toward the chimney.

_"YES!"_ she thought as she saw the slim, black shape leap away the moment she touched down on the roof, "WAIT!" she called, regretting the hoarse voice that couldn't be helped: this form had a bigger throat and relatively less cheek skin to soften and modulate the sounds. She leaped after the figure, "WAIT!"

_"A Cyber all right! Damn! This one's good!"_ she thought as she ran along one rooftop. Like all specials born of the tank, she had taken the appropriate Cyber training classes, and had barely passed the ones not related to her specialty. One thing she'd gotten out of Tracking class was a healthy respect for her Cyber brothers and sisters. Another was the conviction that she didn't want to take the Hand-to-Hand combat courses that were also offered, " WE NEED TO TALK!"

She couldn't see anybody any more. She stopped, panted for a few seconds, then yelled, "WE LOVE YOU! PLEASE COME HOME!"

She transformed back to her human form and waited, panting, heart beating, hoping that the prodigal would appear, ready to give a kiss and heartfelt embrace. To welcome him or her back out of the cold night of lonliness into the warm comfort of the family.

Nothing. Only the cold wind.

"Damn you Cybersix!" she muttered, sagging to her knees, eyes welling with tears, "Why the hell did you kill yourself and leave us with a ragged, bleeding hole in our hearts as big as the moon?"   



	8. of Dark Branch

"Henrique!" Mr. Diortti beamed when the plainclothes policeman came in the door, "How are you today?"

"Fine, thank you, Don." Henrique looked concerned.

"Ah! Something is troubling you! I can tell. What is it?"

Henrique looked at him for a long moment. Mrs. Diortti noted the silence and came over, wiping her hands on a towel and looking worried also.

Henrique leaned forward, "We have reason to believe that all the mob activity in the city is unifying in response to the continued pressure from the police department."

"You have them on the ropes then!" Mr. Diortti exulted, "They are worried!" He slapped his hand on the counter, "First Cornazon, now this!"

"Right, although we don't know who all of a sudden got worried and decided to get everyone together." He nodded toward the copy of The Independent lying on the countertop, with headlines shouting the news of three mob-leader related slayings.

"Bah! Slime killing slime! Let them do it to themselves rather than force the taxpayer to pay for the rope to hang the lot!"

"Well, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the word on the street has it that this particular street has gotten some attention. You happen to know why?"

"Umm, perhaps." Mrs. Diortti said guardedly, eyes flicking from Henrique's face to something outside, in front of the store.

"Well, it doesn't take a genius to look at the police blotter and note that the crime rate is down on this street. And I've seen three, umm, individuals with suspected mob connections walking around with splints on their fingers and avoiding this street as if it was guarded by the devil himself." Henrique looked at them closely, "Taking the law into your own hands may feel good, but it's no way to run a city."

"Me?" Mr. Diortti looked at him, surprised, "What makes you think an old, unassuming snackshop owner like me can scare the likes of those hoodlums?" He laughed, "I wish I had the bite to match my bark!"

Henrique grinned, "Ya old warhorse! Could you blame me for suspecting you?" He shook his head and waved at the street, "I wish everyone else on this street had as much fire as you. I've been telling everyone, and they start shaking!"

"Even Frank?" Mr. Diortti asked. Frank was the proprietor of the local Irish pub a few doors up the street.

"He's concerned, of course. You two are the pillars of resistance on this street."

"You think Frank's doing it?" Mr. Diortti asked, lowering his voice. Mrs. Diortti glanced at him with a look that said, _"What the hell are YOU doing?!?!"_

"No. If he did, he'd have started a long time ago. Something new has been added to this street, and I'm damned to figure out what." Henrique straightened when the chime on the door tinkled, signalling a customer entering. He turned to leave.

The girl walked in and tried to slip by Henrique, throwing a glance at him.

"YOU'RE new!" Henrique said, looking at her.

Mr. Diortti chuckled. "You want the usual, dear?" Mrs. Diortti asked her.

"Yes, ma'am."

"I'd like a taco special." Henrique said suddenly, "My usual too."

"Of course Henrique."

The girl went to the back booth and sat down. Henrique followed her and sat down across from her, "Hello."

"Hello officer." she replied.

"You know me?"

She shrugged, "I saw you haul away that robber the other day." she replied.

"Hmm, yes. Who are you waiting for leaning on that lamp post outside?"

She cocked her head slightly to one side, then the other, "Umm, friends."

"Friends. I see. And what do you do with such, umm, friends?"

"Renew friendships."

"For a price, I suppose?"

"I have nice friends." she replied, "Nothing illegal about making my friends happy and them helping me out once in a while, is there?"

Henrique chuckled, "Now THAT has to be the best alibi for prostitution that I've ever heard!"

She smiled, "Are you accusing me of being a whore and a street walker?" she asked sweetly.

"You're unique, that's for sure. I kinda watched you in action last night."

"And?" she asked him.

"You've got a lot of, umm, friends."

Mr. Diortti laughed at something. Mrs. Diortti shushed him.

"Kid, you look like someone who stepped right out of a very nice home and loving family into a situation that's ruining you, and will end up killing you some day. I suppose that's the unique angle you present. Sleep with the girl next door. That is, when you're not busting thieves."

She perked up.

"Oh yes. We found prints on the gun of the twerp I took in. Prints from hands as small as yours, and not matching any we have on file." He smiled, "My dear, this isn't your old police force or police chief any more."

"Don't I know it!" she muttered.

"Actually, our very first thought was an army vet coming home to clean the place out."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. No match, though."

The girl sighed, "I wish you had."

"You know something?"

Mrs. Diortti came by with two baskets of food. She put them in front of the two of them, "No charge." she said.

The girl threw a glance up at Mrs. Diortti and sighed, "I wish you wouldn't do that."

Mrs. Diortti turned to Henrique, "Talk some sense into her."

"I'm trying." Henrique replied. He unwrapped a taco and bit off half with the first bite. He watched as the girl ate her hamburger and fries, "Hmph! Look at you!"

"What?" her onyx black eyes went directly to his, her hamburger in her hands.

"Look at the way you're holding that hamburger. Upper class if I don't miss my guess. Honey, just go home and save yourself and your family a lot of heartache."

"Can't" she replied. She looked at the hamburger, then tried to bite into it like a slob, but changed her mind and took a dainty bite instead, looking Henrique in the eye as she chewed.

"Family problems?" he asked, popping the rest of his taco into his mouth.

"In a way. Personal problems." She replied, "It got to the point where leaving hurt less than staying."

"And what's with the military angle?" he asked, getting his second taco.

She sighed, put the hamburger down, and looked at him candidly, "Have you ever been the victim of identity theft?"

"No. Heard of it though. Somebody takes your ID number and becomes you, but you get stuck for the bills they run up."

"Well, you still have an identity after identity theft."

"And yours was stolen?"

"Erased. Murdered and buried. I'm nothing. Zero. A nobody. Blow a hole in my head, and nobody says anything, because as far as the world is concerned, I don't exist."

"That would be sad." he said. At some deep level, this young woman was touching him, "I think the world would be a poorer place without you."

"Thank you for thinking so." she said, "I'm sorry if I disagree with you."

He finished his tacos in silence, watching the girl. He caught himself wanting to know her in the biblical sense, because he felt that this particular woman of the night was unlike any other, and doing so would let him into her heart and mind. _"No way Henrique. Not if you want to keep your pension."_ he reminded himself. He then waited for her to finish.

She wiped up the last of the ketsup with two french fries, "Thanks for trying, officer."

"Henrique. Everyone calls me Henrique."

She smiled at him, "Well, thanks for trying, Henrique."

"You're welcome-. Ah, I'm sorry. I never asked for your name."

"My old name means nothing now. I'm Scylla now." she said, "Scylla Charybdis."

"Strange name."

"It's from Greek Mythology."

"Scylla, you're a nice girl, despite what you've done to yourself. Are your parents still alive?"

Her eyes took on a far, distant look, "I hope so. I really truly hope so."

"Go back to your parents. They did a wonderful job. Yeah, maybe somebody took your identity away so completely, you don't exist. But you'll always live in their hearts. Nobody can ever take that away from them. Or you."

"I know. I think about doing it every day."

"Then do it, okay?"

"Maybe. Thanks." She arose. He did too, beat her to the door, and held it open for her. She smiled, inclined her head, and walked outside to her lamp post.

Henrique sighed as he closed the door, then went up to the cash register, pulling out his wallet, "Well, I tried."

"Thank you, Henrique. That's all anyone can ask." Mrs. Diortti thanked him, "No charge."

"Sorry. New bribery rules and all that. I can afford it, now." He said.

"I gave it to you for talking to her. You did well."

He shrugged, "It's part of the 'Get them early' strategy. Get them before they get in so deep, they think they can't get out. Works most of the time, but she-" he jerked his thumb at Scylla standing outside, "was in too deep when she got here, it seems."

"Such a good, good girl. I feel so sorry for her. Make someone a good wife, she would."

Henrique nodded, ignoring the obvious, and held out the bill, "Please?"

"No Henrique."

"Then use it to feed her, okay? Tell her it's on me."

Mrs. Diortti smiled and took the fifty, "As a gift from you." She said, "I'll let her know. Talk with her more, Henrique. She's really nice, despite her job."

Henrique smiled, "Mrs. Diortti, how many girls does that make this year that you've been trying to set me up with?"

"I'm getting old! I can't remember." she shook her head irritably.

He chuckled and went outside. He stopped and looked at Scylla, who was looking up the street.

She turned her head toward him casually, saw him, and locked eyes with him. A faint smile played over her lips.

"Whew!" he said audibly, shaking his head and walking off after she held his eyes for several seconds too many,

She watched him until he turned the corner, then sighed and continued to survey the street.

About twenty minutes later, Mr. Diortti stepped out of his diner. He nodded at Scylla as he tucked the cash bag under his arm and walked up the street to make a deposit. Scylla frowned, shook her head, and began to follow him.

Several street orphans charged around the corner just when Mr. Diortti got to it. They started circling him, laughing and pulling at his coat.

"Hey! Stop that!" he protested, trying to wave them off.

A red headed boy grabbed the cash bag and began to tear down the street. Scylla continued walking, looking quite disinterested. That is, until the boy tried to pass her, when her foot snaked out and tripped him head over heels.

"HEY!" he shouted, finding himself upside down, his ankle held firmly in Scylla's grasp. He reached back to fling the cash bag away, but Scylla twisted his body and plucked it out of his grasp.

The boy's companions had fled, so Mr. Diortti walked back to Scylla, "Ha! These thieves always have bad luck with you around!" he laughed, retrieving his cash bag from Scylla.

"You should have hidden it better, Mr. Diortti." She said.

"You're right, of course. What will we do with him?" he indicated the boy.

"Enjoying the view?" she asked him, glancing down.

"Umm! Uhh!" the boy jerked his eyes away and began to turn a beet red.

She spun him around, releasing his ankle and grabbing the front of his shirt, "I asked you a question! Did you enjoy the view?" she insisted.

"Well, uhh, no! Not really!"

"Hmm. Maybe we should take him to the hospital?" she said, putting the back of her hand to his forehead, as if checking his temperature.

"NOO! They stick me with needles there!" he protested.

"I think you're sick." She said, putting him down but not releasing his shirt, "You know it's not nice to steal from people!"

"A guy's gotta eat!"

"So let's get you fed." She strode down the street, tugging the boy along. She pulled him into the Snack Shoppe. Mr. Diortti chuckled, tucked the cash bag into his suit coat, and continued on to the bank.

"Hello Mrs. Diortti!" Scylla called out, "A hamburger, fries, and coke please!"

"But you just-" she started, then noted the boy Scylla shoved into a booth, "Oh! Coming right up!"

The boy glared sullenly at Scylla, who had slid in next to him, boxing him in, "Stupid bitch." He swore at her.

She smiled at him, "I'm Scylla. What's your name?"

He blinked at her, "Uhh, Julian." He looked at her again, "Say, aren't you the girl who broke Ricco's finger?"

"Which one was that one?" she asked quizzically, "The crook, the pimp, or the protection salesman?"

"Gee!" he chuckled, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised I got caught!"

"Am I that notorious?"

"Notorious?"

"Well known in an unpleasant way." She interpreted.

"Sure are!" He looked at her, "You're stronger than you look."

"Thanks."

"And prettier than I thought."

"Well thanks! I think!"

The doorbell tinkled. "Where is he?" "I dunno!"

Julian twisted and poked his head up over the high back of the booth seat, "Over here guys!" he waved.

Julian's two companions in crime sheepishly joined them.

"Mrs. Diortti…" Scylla turned around.

"Two more, right?"

"Right!"

"Guys, you won't believe who this is who caught me!" Julian boasted.

The boys looked at Scylla, "a girl?" one asked rather distainfully.

"Noo! This is Scylla, the girl who busted all those fingers!"

The boys stared at her, "I thought she'd look ugly." One said.

"Well, I can be ugly if I have to!" she said.

"Yeah! Some guys like ugly!" the other boy spoke up. The other two shushed him, but Scylla just chuckled.

Mrs. Diortti came up with a basket, "The other two will be here in a minute." She said.

The boys split up the french fries and the hamburger, being too hungry to wait.

"You seem to be the boss of this operation, Julian." Scylla remarked after noting that Julian had supervised the division.

"Yeah. Share and share alike. The leader has to take care of his troops, you know." Julian said, "This is Tomas and Gordo."

Scylla nodded at each one, a wry smile on her face, "Yes, he does." She murmured softly. She watched as they ate.

"Y'know, you're not like the other streetwalkers." Gordo said around a mouth full of french fries. He was the shortest and had a mop of black, unruly hair.

"So I am told."

"Yeah. You're not drugged up, strung out, or beat up." Julian observed.

"Yeah! She'd probably be able to take care of Andre easy!" Tomas was the thinnest and had dirty blonde hair.

"Who's Andre?" She asked.

"Oh, the guy who make us steal wallets for him! We're eating more now than he ever gives us in a whole day!" Julian made a face.

"Oh really?" She frowned.

"Say, you think she'll help us?" Gordo whispered to Julian.

"Welll…" Julian sounded uncertain.

"Help with what?" she asked.

"We heard how you beat up Ricco and keep him away from the other girls on this street. I was wondering if you could beat up Andre and keep him away from us." Gordo proposed.

"Only if you stay on this street and don't steal."

"Really?" they all chorused.

"And, you must earn your keep!"

"Y'mean WORK?" Tomas Croaked.

"Well, yes!"

"Like at what?" Julian chuckled.

"I've got an idea. In the meantime, all three of you will have to learn to read."

"What for?" Tomas looked doubtful.

"So that I'll keep Andre away from you, for starters." She smiled, "I know of a good way to teach you. You won't have a problem, if only you'll try."

Julian thought for a minute. Mrs. Diortti brought the other two baskets, so he divided those in silence, still thinking.

"The leader must take care of his troops, Julian." Scylla said, "He can't think only of himself."

Julian took on a look of determination and nodded, "Deal!" he held his dirty hand out. Scylla grinned and shook it.

Mrs. Diortti smiled as she busied herself behind the counter.   



	9. of Dark Branch

Elaine savored the last few mouthfuls of ice cream she was having for dessert. Across from her at the table, Lucas was trying not to be noticed looking at her while nursing his decaf, "Umm! Delicious!" she pushed the dish away, licking her lips.

"You sure know how to enjoy a meal." Lucas commented.

"From where I come from, ice cream is a treat, and this would be a banquet." she replied. Her eyes narrowed at him, "Lucas, you modest, secretive guy!"

Lucas sat up straight, with a look of, _"What did I do?"_ on his face.

She tisked, "Here you are, a high school Biology teacher, and you're really a newspaper columnist? I read your column today in The Independent! You never told me that you wrote for a paper!"

"Oh yeah." he took on a worldly-wise air, "I write a column or two for the paper to make ends meet." He waved his hand, "I'd like to go into journalism full time one day."

"Really?" she leaned forward with interest, "I must say it seems you did a good job researching the facts on the 'future of genetics' article."

"Thanks."

She smiled, then added, "But don't you think your conclusions are a bit, well, disconnected and extreme?"

"Oh! About the monsters from genetic manipulation?" Lucas shook his head, "I knew that'd bite me." he muttered, "That was my crazy editor trying to jazz up the column. I'm just starting off, and the rookies get no respect. He did that on all of them. I think it comes from all the monster movies he's seen."

_"So there WAS something strange about those articles!" _she thought. "So what ARE your opinions on biological monsters?" she asked him.

"It's the big question about nature versus nuture. People love to talk about good blood, bad blood, good genes, bad genes. Master race goodness, inferior race evilness." He glanced around the room looking a bit belligerent, "Bunch of cr- ah, baloney, if you ask me. I come down hard on the nuture side myself. If you're not sick in the head, you can be raised into being a good citizen, even if your parents were war criminals. I'd have to believe that, otherwise I wouldn't be teaching, would I?"

"So what would you do if you actually MET one of these genetic experiments running around in the real world?"

"Well, for one, the guy who created it would have to be a genius to do it with current technology." Lucas remarked.

_"Thank you," _Elaine thought, _"Daddy would be pleased to know that.", _"Go on," she urged, hoping she was looking as fascinated as she really was feeling.

"So it would depend on the guy. If he was evil, then his creations would be programmed to be evil. If he was good, then there might be hope for the monsters."

"What do you mean by good and evil?"

"Oh, the usual. Don't kill, don't steal, don't lie. Following the rules that make our society work."

"In other words, good for people, but not necessarily good for them."

"Oh, I suppose it might be considered good to them if they had to eat humans, but not for us humans. Then we'd fight them and kill them if we could."

"Which would be bad for them, right?" she remarked.

"Well, yeah."

"So, it would depend on the guy programming them, right? I mean, if he grew them to be programmed, somebody's got to do it, right? Why NOT him, the guy who created them? Why NOT create and program his creations to be good, both for themselves and for the humans they would live among?"

Lucas thought a moment, "I suppose so, but given the bad rap they're getting in the movies and on TV, any monster or genetic experiment would be branded as evil from the start."

She sighed, "You may be right about other people, but I was asking about YOU."

He laughed, "I suppose it would depend on if it started chewing on my leg!"

"How open minded! I admire that!" she replied, chuckling.

"Besides, I'd like to move beyond that kind of article anyhow. Get into something more challenging."

"Such as?"

"Investigative reporting. For instance, there's been a pattern of gang related slayings that seems to indicate a consolidation of underworld power here in Meridiana. Finding out who the new kingpin is would be a good start."

"Sounds dangerous." Elaine frowned. She was way past beginning to like Lucas, and was ready to get more involved.

"Hey, the more dangerous the assignment, the better the article!" He laughed, "Better than writing articles about advances in genetics that keep getting monsters edited into them!"

She chuckled with him, "For sure!" she said encouragingly, "How would you start, though?" she asked.

"I have a lead or two, and am following them up." He glanced at his watch, "I just happen to have an appointment with one after I'm done here. May I walk you back to your apartment?"

"Actually, I'd like to come with you and be in on the inside of a breaking story like that. It'd be rather exciting, don't you think?"

"Hmm." Lucas thought only for a moment, then grinned, "Aww, why not? Despite his profession, my contact is definitely not your underworld type. Shouldn't be dangerous in the least." He winked and wagged his finger at her, "Now don't tell anybody! Gotta protect my sources, you know!"

The smile he received made him glad he had given in..   
---------------------   
"So who is this contact of yours?" Elaine asked Lucas as they walked down a street. Being new to Meridiana, she had no idea where she was, although the noise of traffic in the distance behind her indicated they were off the main boulevard.

"The finest private investigator in Meridiana." Lucas replied, leading her up a flight of stairs to a door with a small nameplate bearing the letters, "M. Yashimoto, PI" Lucas tried the door and found it unlocked. It opened into a corridor, "I lacked the contacts he has, so I hired him to ask them and compile a report for me that I could use to jump start my investigation."

Lucas knocked on a door at the end of the corridor. "Come in!" a voice called from inside.

Lucas opened the door and let Elaine go in first. However, no sooner had he entered, when the door was slammed shut behind him. Both whirled around to see a man of oriental descent standing between them and the door, holding a gun on them, "Don't move, Mr. Amato!" he warned.

"Miao! What's going on??" Lucas demanded.

Yashimoto looked pained, "I am sorry I have to do-" He paused, catching sight of Elaine. He heaved a huge sigh and let his gun hand drop, "No. I can't do it!"

"Hey guy!" Lucas put a hand on his shoulder, "What's going on? You can tell me!"

"She's gone! Kidnapped!"

"Who's been kidnapped?"

"My little sister, Ikikko! They found out I was asking questions about their organization and their leader, so they kidnapped her!" he gave Lucas a note he pulled out of his trench coat.

Elaine stepped up behind Lucas and read over his shoulder. "We have your sister. She won't be harmed if you stop nosing around and eliminate your client. Don't go to the police. This is your only warning."

"The bastards!" Lucas snarled, wadding up the note, "You should go to the police! Ryan'll nail them for sure!"

"I agree with you, Mr. Amato, but their leader appears to be highly cautious. More so than normal, my contacts state. I was able to find out where they are hiding my sister, but when I went to investigate, I found the security very formidable. A gun battle would be protracted, and give them time to-" he stopped, overcome with emotion.

"Where is she?" Elaine asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"I know someone who can rescue her. Where is she being held?"

He looked at her for a long moment, then put his gun down and scribbled an address on a note pad sitting on a nearby table, "1487 Bolivar Avenue, Warehouse G." he said, tearing the top sheet off and giving it to her.

She put it in her handbag, "I have to go alone, Lucas." she told him, "I hope I can catch this person in time. Which way to Boulevard Nationale?" she asked Yashimoto.

"Up the street." Yashimoto told her, motioning, "About two blocks. You will be three blocks north of the park."

"Good! I won't be long." she assured him, "Do you have a business card so that I can find my way back?"

Yashimoto handed her his business card, "Do you think this individual can really rescue Ikikko?"

"The problem is getting their attention. But I believe they can do it. They will either succeed or die trying." Elaine assured him, "I'll be back, Lucas!" she called as she left the apartment.

"I certainly hope the person she is referring to can do it." Yashimoto sighed.

"Yeah, me too." Lucas agreed, "By the way, did you get any leads on who the head man is?"

"Indeed I did. You will be surprised to hear who it is!"   
------------   
Elaine nodded to herself as the sound of traffic grew louder as she walked away from Yashimoto's apartment, _"Good. I'm heading in the right direction. This takes skills beyond what I've got."_ she admitted to herself, _"That's when a sane and sensible Special like myself turns a job like this over to a real Pro."_   



	10. of Dark Branch

The butler opened the door to the Trodden residence, "Miss Schweitzer! What a pleasant surprise! No one was expecting you!" he exclaimed upon seeing who had knocked.

"Sorry Harold, but this is an emergency. Where's my brother?" Elaine asked him, stepping inside.

"Out of town on a business meeting." The butler stepped behind her and helped get her coat off, "Your sister is with Dr. Pearce in Bethany's room."

Elaine frowned, "Is she-"

"Oh no! Miss Bethany is in perfect health. Merely some concerns about some dreams she has been having."

"Good. Harold, could you be so kind as to bring to her room a wide, black marker, a very large artist's pad, some tape, and a vial of sustenance, please?"

"I believe Mr. Trodden has some of those things in his office with which to prepare presentations, and I have a vial on my person in the event of an emergency. I will fetch them immediately."

Elaine hurried up the stairs, walked down the hall, and knocked softly at the door covered with crayon drawings next to the bathroom.

"Come in!"

Elaine walked in to find Bethany sitting on her bed holding her teddy bear. Serena, Techno 54, was sitting next to her. Dr. Reba Pearce, Cyber 5000, was sitting in a chair, one leg tucked under her, the other dangling several inches above the floor, an expensive designer shoe swinging off of the toe. She was scribbling notes onto a notepad, occasionally biting the end of her pen as she paused to gather her thoughts together.

"Auntie Elaine!" Bethany hopped off the bed, ran to Elaine, and wrapped her arms around her ankles.

"Hey girl!" Elaine grinned, picked her up, tossed her into the air, caught the squealing girl, and walked to the bed with her hanging under her arm, "How are you today?" she asked.

Bethany made a face, "Bad dreams!" she complained as Elaine slung her to a sitting position on her lap.

"Did you eat too much ice cream before going to bed?" Elaine accused her, poking at her nose playfully with a forefinger while admiring the facinating patterns of blue, green, and purple in her irises.

"First question *I* asked." Cyber 5000 muttered. Louder, she said, "So Bethy, you saw lots of guns firing, right?"

"Yes. Out of a big, black car, right at a store. People were hiding inside. Then another car hit it. Lots of smoke. Then an amba-, ambe-"

"An ambulance?" she supplied.

"Yes! a 'nambulance!"

"This happened real quick-like?"

"Yes." Bethany clapped her hands together, "Like that."

"Umhmmm." She nodded, taking more notes.

Although Von Richter was a brilliant geneticist, he had made his share of mistakes. Cyber 5000 suffered from one of them. Some of the genetic variances set for the initial 5000 cybers were too wide. This was not a problem with the majority of the Cybers, because only one or two of the variant parameters were set at their limits, and those were often not the limits in error. Being the last one in the series, her variances from her batchmates were set at the extremes of five parameters, three of which were in error. The mistake was not discovered until many years had passed, and she had failed to physically grow and mature beyond a body age of 10. It was then that Von Richter went back and discovered his mistake after many months of research and careful examination of Cyber 5000.

The discovery came close after the heels of the Engineer disaster. The Engineer series were to be the builders of the world's housing. Adaptive, inventive, clever and strong, they would be able to tear the raw materials of the buildings and bridges out of the most unpromising ground and erect the most useful and beautiful structures. Due to their large size, a larger set of growth tubes were ordered. The vendor was unable to make the tubes, so sublet the contract out to another manufacturer at a reduced cost in order to ensure a profit. The new vendor, in turn, cut corners to make THEIR profit. The tubes were delivered with an unauthorized and undocumented inner chemical coating to pass certain crack tests, to ensure that the tank would not shatter half-way through gestation. Unfortunately, during the rapid growth phase of the Engineers, the chemical leached out into their sustenance bath and got into their circulatory systems. When they came out of their tanks, they were unable to think in any other pattern but that which was strict, narrow, and linear: A condition of mind that was totally unable to perform the complex, parallel thinking necessary to formulate a building plan and to carry it out. They were renamed the Fixed Idea series, and were limited to the original batch of 500. The decision was made not to try growing a new set of Engineers until all the Fixed Ideas had died.

Von Richter was in a very bad way, beginning to doubt the wisdom of growing his children if the possiblity of accidents and mistakes could not be eliminated. The simple, child-like, accepting nature the Fixed Ideas displayed in the face of the huge differences between them and their brothers and sisters, as well as the clumsy efforts they made to fulfill the builder-programming built into them made the pain worse. When the Evolved Cyber effort inflicted too much pain on Cyber 7, Von Richter halted all work on growing new Cybers, Types, and Technos, withdrawing into the main residence to brood on his failures.

Cyber 5000 was one of the bright spots during "the dead time," as this period was called. Given her condition, she was unable to fulfill her own destiny as a guardian soldier for the simple reason that she couldn't pass the minimal height and weight requirement of any army in the world. But during the time Von Richter worked on her problem, she became facinated with the fields of biology, genetics, and medicine. She left the compound and joined the very first Types sent to America as their daughter, and was able to get enrolled in college, then in Medical school. There, she displayed extraordinary skills and insight, and became something of a _wunderkind_ among those in the know in the medical field. Her residency was no less brilliant, displaying a form of extreme competence in areas as diverse as pediatrics, reconstructive surgery, pathology, and diagnostics.

Her ER skills became something of a legend during a period of intense gang warfare in Baltimore: No matter how badly shot up or cut up someone was, if they were not dead for more than 10 minutes when they came through the ER door, she could revive them, stitch them back together, and keep them alive. Of course, after they awoke, they were a captive audience, forced to bear the scolding of an (apparent) 10 year old girl giving them a piece of her mind, often making them end up wishing she had failed after all, On top of humiliating the gang members by constantly reminding them that they owed their lives to a girl younger than their kid sisters, she had fiendishly parked members of opposite gangs in shared recovery rooms which she had thoughtfully furnished with large bins of Nerf balls so that they could settle their differences, she told them, in a manner worthy of their true maturity level. The gang war ground to a halt as the members left the hospital feeling a grudging respect for each other, as well as sharing a perverse sense of kinship that comes only after having endured the torments of a shared adversity.

When her residency ended and she was preparing to return to Meridiana to take up the practice of critical care pediatrics, the City of Baltimore held a farewell ceremony at City Hall. There was a great deal of concern when members from both gangs showed up at the festivities, but to everyone's relief, they chose to express their "displeasure" with their treatment/imprisonment by chucking a multitude of Nerf balls at the podium when she stood up to express her thanks.

Cyber 5000 returned in triumph to Meridiana, having fulfilled her Cyber destiny in her own way. Later, after having attended the sad funeral of Cyber 29, she travelled to Yugoslavia to help treat the child victims of the war. She was able to find the orphans 29 had rescued, and told them of the sadness in the heart of the father whose son had died because he had saved them. She returned bearing the crude pictures and messages of thanks, comfort, and appreciation made by the grateful children. Von Richter went through them for several days, with a photo of the newborn Bethany sitting on his desk watching him. He then called in Techno 1834 and ordered the restart of the birth program with a new batch of 500 Cybers, with Cyber 5029 to use Cyber 29's genes. He then passed the pictures and messages on to Cybersix. Although not healed by them as completely as Von Richter, she recovered enough to return to the classroom so that her students could complete the process.

Although having scorned the idea of being made a Special, Cyber 5000 enjoyed a more rare privilege: the professional courtesy and respect that Von Richter extended to a fellow professional. Something experienced only by Marryn and Dr. Zacharias until then. Naturally, Von Richter would not have trusted his granddaughter's health to anyone else. It was only a matter of time when she would return to the compound to take over Techno 1834's job of creating the future members of Von Richter's family.

"Did you see who was hurt?" Elaine asked Bethany.

"No. There were a lot of people in the way." Bethany shook her head.

"Could you tell how they felt?" Cyber 5000 asked, scribbling down the information.

"They were sad. They loved whoever was hurt, and were afraid for them."

"Um hmm!" she scribbled some more in her notebook, then beamed at Bethany, "Very good! You're beginning to learn how to recall your dreams and describe the details very well. You still are not getting any during the day, right?"

"Not yet." Bethany replied.

"Are you done?" Elaine asked Cyber 5000, hearing Harold bearing the supplies she had requested arriving outside the door.

"Yeah." she thought a moment, then scribbled some more in the notebook.

"Come on in, Harold!" Elaine called.

"Oh goody!" Bethany clapped when the butler entered, "BIG pictures!"

"Umm, not exactly!" Elaine said seriously, "There is a little girl, whose name is Ikikko, who has been kidnapped by some bad men. You know about the Cyber who's run away, haven't you?"

"Yes." Bethany nodded, and recited, "If I see him or her, I'm supposed to tell them to go straight home, and that grampa and gramma won't be mad at them."

"Very good!" Techno 54 nodded.

"Yes! Very good! We think it's Cyber 356, who was stationed in Peru. The others have reported back in, or turned themselves in."

"Oh dear!" Harold shook his head, "They will not be treated well at all!"

"Hmph!" Cyber 5000 snorted irritably.

"What, Reba?" 54 asked her.

"Cyber 5000, mommy!" Bethany chided her mother gently.

"I don't know their motivations, of course," the Cyber winked at Bethany, "But it appears to be a pretty blunt statement that they'd rather take their chances with the Normals and their military courts than the Training Board that shafted their batchmate."

"Ouch." 54 winced, "If they go to prison, it's going to be tough getting sustenance to them."

"Now, from what I remember about 356, she's been really ticked off by the macho men in the officer corps. Has a stubborn, never-give-up streak as bad as Six's. I find it hard to believe she'd crack and run, although-" She stopped and decided not to pursue the thought.

Elaine laid the big pad out and pulled the marker cap off, "Bethany, I want you to print a message to Cyber 356, telling her about Ikikko and where to find her." she pulled out the slip of paper Yashimoto gave her and wrote a message down for Bethany to follow.

Cyber 5000 nodded as she put her pad in her brown leather Gucci shoulder bag, "Yep, gotta exploit that programming, don't we?"

"It's who we are." Elaine shot a glance up at her, irritated, "It's what stands between us and slaughter."

"Bull-" 5000 started to retort, but changed mid-word, "It's no protection for us at all. How many people like Harold or Dr. Zack are going to understand it's intended for the protection of normals from us monsters? Pretty few, if you ask me."

"Begging your pardon, Dr. Pearson," Harold interjected, "But any loving couple who produces such a wonderful child like Bethany cannot be monsters."

"Touche!" 54 grinned. Cyber 5000 raised her hands in surrender at that logic, shaking her head. She walked over and watched as Bethany finished writing the message and insisted on drawing a picture. She drew an unhappy looking stick figure in a cage, surrounded by other stick figures sporting horns and very big guns.

"Hmmm." she was thoughtful.

"DON'T THINK ABOUT IT!" Elaine glanced up at her warningly, "I'd do it myself, but I never took hand-to-hand, and neither did you, if I recall. The place is crawling with guards. We need a fully trained Cyber to get in there, grab Ikikko, and get her out alive and intact."

The cyber's smile was lopsided, "Programming." she replied, as if the word was an adequate reason and the most obvious excuse.

"Who are these people, if I may ask?" Harold inquired.

"I have it on good authority that a new underworld kingpin is getting an empire together." Elaine explained, "The recent murders of underworld leaders shows that they are pretty ruthless. When probes were started by a local paper, their response was to grab Ikikko, the little sister of one of the investigators. Whoever it is, they value their anonymity." Elaine glanced back at the poster, "Well done, Bethany! Now let's put this outside, on your window, and tape a vial of sustenance to it so that Cyber 356 sees it when she visits tonight."

"Are we THAT predictable?" Cyber 5000 groaned, shaking her head.

"Yes, WE are." Elaine replied with a chuckle as she went to the window, poster in one hand, scotch tape in the other.

"I'll do that." Cyber 5000 volunteered, kicking her shoes off, "I can get through the window easier than you can, sister."

After it was put up and the lights turned off so Bethany could see and admire how pretty it looked, they left her with her mother, since it was very much past her bedtime.

"You're not going to rescue her yourself, are you?" Elaine asked 5000 when they got to the front door hallway.

"I may be a Cyber, but I'm not stupid!" she replied, "Child molesters are easy pickings compared to these guys. I'm heading back to the hospital."

"But you just left work, did you not?" Harold was concerned.

"My speciality may be pediatrics," she said, grinning, "But I pretty much have the run of the hospital. I have a standing invitation from the ER staff to drop by and lend a hand anytime I feel like it. Something tells me they're going to need a hand tonight."

They left the Trodden residence and walked through the path to the front gate, "What do you think of her dreams?" Elaine asked.

"Beats me." Cyber 5000 shook her head, "But I'd take it seriously. I gave her the Rhine test for Telepathy. She scored 24 out of 25 several times in a row before she got bored with it. Positive identification. She also foresaw Type 37's kidnapping and the gunfight at the Cornazon corral. Named the rescue team too, including Terra and Jose, two of the most unlikely candidates anyone but Cybersix would have picked."

"And this one?" Elaine paused at the street.

Dr. Pearson looked concerned, and paused before answering, "None of her dreams have ever involved a non-family member." she murmured, "I don't like it one bit."

"I gotta get back to Lucas." Elaine said, shouldering her bag.

"Where are you going to be?"

"At Ikikko's house waiting with her brother."

Cyber 5000 frowned, "Hmm, Bethany didn't write down his address. Cyber 356 will either drop her off here or at the police station, so how will you guys know when she's been rescued?"

Elaine slapped her forehead, "Ohhh! You're right! I've got his card and phone number. I'll give it to Harold!" She turned around.

"Oh boy! You got your mind so fixated on getting back to him, you forgot that detail!" Cyber 5000 laughed, "Enjoying the assignment?"

"The best is yet to come!" Elaine winked and headed back to the house.

As soon as the shrubbery hid Elaine, Cyber 5000 ran across the street to a nearby building. After swapping her fashionable shoes for the more sensible sneakers stored in her shoulder bag, she jumped to the top of the five story building and leaped along the roofs of the buildings surrounding the Trodden mansion until she came to one with a view of Bethany's window. Hiding behind a chimney, she waited, watching the rooftops and occasionally glancing at the glowing, greenish-white spot on the side of the mansion where she had taped the message and the vial illuminating the lettering.

After a half hour, a black figure came leaping across the rooftops. It paused at the edge of the building Cyber 5000 was on. 5000 caught sight of someone clad in a black catsuit, and black hat. A velvet lined black cape flowing in the soft evening sea breeze caressed the slim form. Leaping off the building, the shadow ran along the wall, and went through the hole in the Trodden security system that only a member of Von Richter's family would know about or could take advantage of.

_"Yeah. We ARE that predictable!"_ Cyber 5000 thought ruefully.

After a few minutes, the green glow that the vial of sustenance cast on the poster moved, then disappeared. Cyber 5000 watched as the black figure backed out through the security system and leaped back onto the roof. After a pause, it began running and leaping off in the direction of the harbor warehouse district.

"It's showtime!" Cyber 5000 grinned as she headed across the rooftops to Meridiana General.

It was going to be like old times.

------------------------------   
Bethany, Serena, and Cyprus are (C) Bethany Trodden.   
Cyber 5000 is (C) Queen of Mars.   
Please note that the website has illustrations drawn by Queen of Mars.   
----------------   
AUT   



	11. of Dark Branch

The cell phone of Police Chief William Ryan chirped the moment he settled down into his favorite easy chair.

"Oh my..." He sighed as he pulled the phone out, aware of the look of disapproval on his wife's face, "Something always gets in the way. Hello, Chief Ryan speaking."

"Hi 37. 5K here."

"5000! Nice to hear from you!" his mood lifted, "How are things going with you at the hospital?"

"Things are going to heat up here in the ER real soon now."

"Oh?"

"Yes. Know anything about a certain Meridiana Underworld kingpin?"

"For starters, we know he's out there and a nasty, mean bastard who takes no prisoners. I'd like to know who he is. I'd give my bonus to get his address."

"Well, a local paper also wants that information. They put an investigator out on the street to get their research started. Our kingpin heard of this and snatched the guy's kid sister. They have her held really tight at warehouse G on 1487 Bolivar Avenue."

"Hmm, the ransom note probably threatened her if he called us in, right?" Type 37 scribbled the address in the margin of the newspaper he was holding, mentally toting up the manpower he could call in within the next hour.

"Right. Well, Elaine's on assignment here in Meridiana and got wind of the guy's problem."

"What? Why didn't she tell me this herself? She isn't going to-"

"No she isn't, and yelled at me when I thought about rescuing her myself. She went straight to Bethany's house and had her make a poster with this information on it. I taped it outside her window myself, complete with a sustenance night light to call attention to it."

"Now why would-" he stopped, then grinned "Oh boy!"

"Yep. I saw Cyber 356 get the message 10 minutes ago. You know what to do."

"Indeed I do! Thanks for the heads-up." He thanked her.

"No problem. Bye."

"Bye". He hung up, then started punching in the number for the Main precinct front desk.

"What was that about, dear?" his wife, Type 138 asked.

"A kidnapping that's about to go sour." he replied, "This is Chief Ryan. Who's this? Velasquez? Get two officers with shotguns down to Meridiana General in a couple of hours to guard a hospital ward. Yes, no rush. I got a hot tip that some tough guys working for our new underworld boss will be paying the ER a visit. They'll probably claim they got caught in a 10 car pileup, but don't believe it. We'll ID later. Have a nice evening."

"Meridiana General? Isn't that where Reba, err Cyber 5000, works?" 138's eyebrows went up.

"Yes. She called from the ER. It seems our wandering sister is going to attempt a rescue."

"Oh, the poor bastards." She sighed.

"Yeah." he picked up his paper, "Sent to the hospital by one Cyber, only to be met there by another."   
---------   
Ikikko sat on the floor in the corner of the small shed that served as an office in the warehouse. She had her arms wrapped around her knees, shivering and glancing at the huge, threatening thug sitting in the chair next to the door. He was drinking beer and listening to a soccer game.

She wasn't cold, but was terribly frightened. She had been coming home from school and had been walking up the steps to her brother's apartment when two big men came out of the building, grabbed her, and carried her to a car that had brought her to a huge warehouse.

"Your brother's been hired to nose around in my business. That isn't very healthy." their leader told her in a smooth, gentle voice that reminded her of the bad guys in the movies, "You are here to help us convince him to drop the case and retire his client. Then we'll let you go home."

She didn't know what "retire" meant, but she knew that the bad guys in the movies who talked that way always turned out to be the ones that gave her bad dreams for nights afterwards. They also were the ones who seemed to be happiest when going out of their way to break their promises.

The sharp pains in her tummy told her that she was very hungry too. She glanced at the thug again, "Pardon me." she said, her tiny voice shaking, "I'm-"

"SHADDAP!" he shouted at her. She jumped several centimeters, and he laughed at her reaction.

She tried not to cry: that would only make them more angry at her. She pressed her face into her knees to keep him from seeing her tears.

Suddenly, the crash of falling crates roared through the warehouse, followed by the sound of men shouting and running. The thug jumped up at the same time Ikikko did and ran to the door, "WHAT THE SHIT IS HAPPENING OUT TH-" he yelled as he opened the door.

CRACK! He spun around on one foot like a top, and fell to the floor, his jaw violently dislocated. Ikikko cried out, only to see a woman clad in black leather, wearing a black hat and cape slip inside. She put a slim finger to her mouth, a huge, dark, eye winking at her from around the fall of hair covering one side of her face. The woman quickly closed the door and pressed her body hard against the wall next to it. Ikikko tried to shrink as small as she could into the corner, wondering what was happening.

The woman seemed to be counting silently. She was down to "one" when Ikikko heard men running up to the door. The woman held up two fingers.

"MAX! WATCH THE-" a man yelled as he barged into the room, holding a gun.

The woman karate chopped the man's forearm. CRACK! The man screamed and the gun flew up into the air. He went down, tripped by the woman.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING IN TH-" a second man came in almost immediately behind Max, also holding a gun. He saw the woman, and tried to bring his gun to bear, but she had whirled around like a top. CRACK! Her fist connected with the man's jaw, and Ikikko saw it turn at an angle she had seen before only in cartoons.

The woman grabbed the second man by the shirt and flung him into the first man, who was struggling to his feet and trying to find his gun. The force of the throw slammed both of them into the heavy wooden desk in the corner opposite of Ikikko's. It slid into the wall, and the shed shook and slid a foot in response. The thugs fell into a heap of tangled arms and legs that didn't move.

The woman ran over to each man and took their guns. She kicked one gun next to the door, and had two in her hands. She then went to the door, kicked it open, and began firing with both guns at wildly different angles. Screams and shouts erupted from all over the warehouse, making Ikikko believe the woman was hitting everything she was aiming at.

When the guns began clicking, she threw them out the door. There were two howls of pain from two different directions. The woman slammed the door shut, snatched up the gun that lay on the floor, ran over to Ikikko, bent down, and put her right arm around her.

"Don't worry." she whispered gently to Ikikko, holding her tightly to herself as she crouched.

_"Oh no!"_ Ikikko thought frantically, knowing how thin the shed walls were, _"They'll shoot through the walls!"_

She felt a sudden powerful surge upwards. WHANG! The tin roof of the shed resounded as it was knocked up and off its walls as the woman leaped upwards and hit it with the flats of her shoulder blades. Ikikko saw the floor and the shed drop away beneath her feet. Then she saw the cieling and floor whirl around in crazy circles as the woman began to spin and twist in mid-air.

With a light THAP, the woman landed on a girder high above the floor. Ikikko was terribly afraid of heights, and was too scared to shriek. She was sure the woman would fall off, and they'd smash against the concrete floor like two apples and become puddles of applesauce.

The woman ran lightly along the girder, high heels clicking on the metal, acting as if it was 40 meters wide and not 40 centimeters. She was firing at something or someone in the distance to her left. Ikikko heard bullets whizzing by, and pulled her eyes away from the floor just in time to see a rope holding up a cargo net full of crates snap in half, sending the crates crashing down on top of three men who were shouting and pointing guns at them.

The gun clicked. The woman tossed it away. Ikikko felt the woman's chest expand, as if she was inhaling deeply.

Air whistled out through the woman's teeth. Ikikko thought that her brother could whistle better than that!

Lightbulbs began exploding around them, plunging the warehouse into darkness, along with the sound of window panes shattering all around them. A dog began howling outside. _"She's going to fall off for sure!"_ Ikikko thought fearfully.

The woman leaped and twisted into a ball, Ikikko in the center. Ikikko heard the splintering of wood and felt the shudder of the blow through the woman's body that protected her. Then the woman unwrapped herself and landed on the asphalt outside of the warehouse. She ran across the street, then hopped up onto the roof of another warehouse. Ikikko felt the rush of cool night air as the woman ran as fast as the wind across the top of the warehouse. She then felt her stomach drop as the woman crouched, then bounded upwards.

She felt the two of them slowly come to a momentary halt at the top of the jump. _"Oh! I feel like I'm flying!"_ she thought as she looked out over the bright lights of the city. Suddenly, she giggled. The thought had suddenly occurred to her that she'd never been up this late at night before. Or as high in the air outside of an airplane.

The wind whistled past as the woman came down on the opposite roof, absorbing the impact easily with her legs. She ran across to the far side of the warehouse, then stopped and knelt, panting.

"Oh!" Ikikko gasped, wondering what to say after the woman put her down but held her close to herself.

"Shh!" The woman held a finger up. She was listening.

After a long pause, the woman gave a sigh of relief, "Good, they're really confused!" She said.

"Are you rescuing me?" Ikikko asked, wondering how she could tell that.

"Why wouldn't I rescue a little girl like you?" she replied.

The moon was going down, and the moonlight shone on the woman's face. All Ikikko would remember of the woman after this time, and for the rest of her life, was the sweet, gentle smile and the huge, dark, kind eyes she had. Those stood out, because it stirred a memory deep within the little girl that cried to be reborn into her world.

"Do you know how to give a good hug on the neck?" the woman asked her.

"Yes."

"Then put your arms around mine and hug tight! I'm going to take you to a very safe place where your brother can get you."

Sudden gratitude filled Ikikko as she flung her arms around the long, slim neck and pulled herself firmly against the warm, soft body of the woman who rescued her.

The woman wrapped her arms tightly around Ikikko, shifted position, then jumped. Landed. Ran, then jumped again. And again.

Suddenly, Ikikko remembered as the memory burst to the surface of her mind! She began to cry and hugged the woman even tighter, wanting the ride to never end.

In too few minutes, the woman slowed down and began to weave and jump short little jumps.

"Okay, we're here!" she announced, kneeling and releasing her.

Ikikko felt grass under her feet, but refused to let go.

"You're safe now." The woman murmured gently, not forcing her to let go, "You'll see your brother soon."

Each felt the other's heart, warm and beating, within their chests.

Finally, Ikikko reluctantly released her hold, but only enough to allow her to kiss the woman's right cheek lavishly, thoroughly soaking it with her tears.

The woman accepted the kisses, sighing as if something was released in her soul too. When Ikikko finally stopped and released her, the woman put her fingers to her cheek, "Why, thank you honey!" she said, sincerity in every word.

"My mommie." Ikikko whispered.

"What?"

Ikikko reached up and put her hand against the woman's left temple, "Your eyes. They look like my mommie's." the little fingers slid down past the cheek to her chin, " She's dead, and I've forgotten what they looked like until I saw yours."

"Ohh!" The eyes seemed to shake a little, and tears ran down the woman's cheeks too, "Never, ever forget your mama!"

"I won't now! Thank you!" she gave the woman one last hug, "Thank you for everything!"

"You're welcome." she replied, "Just go up to that door and knock on it. The people inside have a little girl too, and will call your brother so he can come get you. Goodbye!" She stood up.

"Goodbye! Goodbye!" Ikikko called out, waving as the woman turned and bounded out of sight, cape snapping.

Only a few seconds later, a shaft of light appeared beside her. She turned around to see a man in the doorway, "Is that Ikikko?" the man called in a strange accent.

"Yes!" she ran to him, "Can you call my brother for me?"

"Indeed we will! Mrs. Tr-" he turned, then stopped.

A little redheaded girl in a red cotton nightgown was coming down the staircase, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, "Hello! I'm Bethany! You must be Ikikko!"

"I am honored!" Ikikko remembered her manners and managed to bow properly, despite what had just happened to her and the surprise at seeing what looked like the blue end of a rainbow trapped in the girl's eyes.

Bethany solemnly returned the bow, then pointed up the steps, "I got lots of toys for Christmas. Would you like to play with them?" she asked.

"Oh, that would be nice!" Ikikko exclaimed as she ran up the steps after Bethany.

Techno 54 walked into the foyer, "Who was that, Harold?" she asked.

"The lamb has been rescued from the wolves, madame, and has been entrusted to us for safekeeping until we notify her brother."

"Oh good! Where is she?" She glanced around quizically.

"She is with Miss Bethany, who is being the perfect hostess." Harold smiled, "We would not have been embarassed in the least if it had turned out to have been the Queen of England herself."

She gave a wry smile, "I suppose for this one time I'll let it pass. I'll call the number Elaine left with us."

Harold was about to close the door when something caught his eye. He stepped outside and looked at the top of the building that arose beyond the ivy covered wall.

The moon was setting behind a slim, black figure wearing a hat and cape, which whipped in the breeze behind it. The figure stood straight, and seemed to be watching and waiting.

Harold gave the soccer referee hand sign for "GOAL!".

The figure waved, then turned and jumped out of sight.

"Ahhh! Now there be heroes among us." He murmured, feeling an emotion he hadn't felt since he turned 13.

He had just closed the door when he heard a voice behind and above him, saying, "Harold?"

He glanced up the staircase at Bethany, "Yes Miss Bethany?"

"Our guest was very badly treated, and is very hungry. Could you please bring some fruit, cookies and milk to the playroom for her?"

"Right away, Miss Bethany."

He permitted a small smile on his face as he went to the kitchen, _"I fear I shall have to tender my regrets to my friend regarding that opening in the household of His Highness, the Prince of Wales."_ he decided firmly, patting the vial of sustenance he kept in his inner coat pocket 'for emergencies', _"Life in a palace would be positively dull compared to working here."_   
-----------   
Techno 54 walked up to the playroom door. She was about to open it when she heard voices. Smiling, she put her ear to it.

"-SOOO scared!"

"You were very brave." came Bethany's voice.

"Well, I cried a little, but I couldn't let them hear me, of course!"

"Of course. Want another cookie? And then?"

"Umm! Thank you! Then that woman came in and knocked them out, POW! Just like that! Shot them up with their own guns! Then she grabbed me, jumped up through the roof onto a steel beam, and ran on it out the window! She carried me all the way here, jumping and running like in the cartoons!"

"That was MY auntie!"

54 swallowed hard at the tone of pride in her little girl's voice.

"REALLY?"

"Yes! But it's a secret, so don't tell anybody, promise?"

"Promise!"

54 paused a few seconds, then rapped on the door.

Bethany opened the door. Serena clucked her tounge in mock disapproval at the toys strewn all over the floor, "You'll have to clean up tomorrow morning, young lady!" she told Bethany.

"I'll help clean up!" Ikikko offered.

"You can't right now," Serena shook her head, "because-"

Ikikko leaped to her feet and rushed out the door, followed by Bethany, "DON'T RUN DOWN THE-" Serena started, then sighed when she heard the thunder of little feet pounding down the staircase too quickly.

She came down the stairs just in time to see Ikikko jump from the fifth step from the bottom into her brother's arms.

"IKIKKO!" he shouted.

"MIAO!" she shouted in reply.

They both whirled around in a little dance before he set his sister down, "Thank you, Mrs. Trodden, for taking care of her!" he said to her as she reached the bottom.

"Bethany here took care of Ikikko all by herself." Serena indicated her daughter.

He turned to Bethany and bowed, "I thank you!" he said.

She bowed back, "I was honored." she replied.

_"Now where did THAT come from?"_ Serena wondered.

Elaine and Lucas were part of the group that had just arrived. Lucas spoke up, "I'm Lucas Amato, reporter for The Independent I'd like to phone my editor from here to arrange for a safe house for Mr. Yashimoto and his sister. His phone may be bugged."

"Of course. There is one on the table in the hallway." Serena pointed. She turned to Yashimoto, "I would like to arrange for Dr. Reba Pearce to talk with Ikikko about her experience, and make sure there are no ill after effects."

Yashimoto was momentarily speechless, "Is that possible?" he asked, finding his voice.

"I insist on it."

"I would like that very much!" he said, bowing, "Thank you! I would now like to meet the ones who rescued Ikikko and thank them myself."

"We would too." Serena said sincerely, "We were fortunate to even get this message to her. We hope to give you that opportunity very soon."

Yashimoto's eyebrow went up at the mention of "her", but he didn't say anything about that. Instead, his face now took on a hard look, "I would also like to meet the men who took her!"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about them!" Elaine said lightly, "Remember all those sirens we heard before coming over here?"

"Yes."

"I'm sure they are being taken care of to your satisfaction at this very moment."   
-----------   
"I'm not sure if they have insurance to cover the tests that you've already administered, Reba!" Dr. Ramirez protested.

"Come on, Emilio!" Dr. Pearce replied, looking at the preliminary lab reports, "15 car pile-up my eye! With bullets through prostate glands, wrists, and knee caps? Two with broken jaws but no damage to their upper teeth? And what about all those splinters we pulled out of those three we put into full body casts? Goodness knows where they've been! We OUGHT to know what's going on in every cubic centimeter of their bodies!"

"Those barium enemas you ordered for all of them cost a bundle!" Dr. Ramirez exclaimed, "If they can't pay for it, it'll go on your account!"

"I am doing what is best for my patients, as well as for the public health and safety!" she replied.

They walked up to the doors of a second floor ward. Two of Meridiana's finest stood guard on either side of the double doors, shotguns slung over their shoulders.

"Besides," Dr. Pearce handed the chart to him and reached into the pocket of her hospital coat, "This next exam I'm going to give them ought not to cost a thing."

Dr. Ramirez shook his head and walked away.

Cyber 5000 kicked the doors open and walked in, "OKAY GUYS!" she shouted as she pulled on her custom-made latex gloves, letting the latex sleeves snap loudly against her forearms, "Prostate cancer exams for everyone! The guys who got hit in their winkies are first!"

"OH NO! IT'S HER!"

"AHHH SHIIIIIIT!"

"MALPRACTICE! MALPRACTICE! GET ME A LAWYER, SOMEBODY! ANYBODY!"

"MMMERRMMMMM FFFFT HHHTTFFMMMM!"

"MOMIEEEEEE!"

"NURSE! WHERE'S THE DAMN K-Y JELLY?"

The doors swung shut.

There was a long pause, "Hey Francisco!" one policeman hissed to the other.

"What Juan?" the other hissed back.

"Aren't they supposed to have long fingers to do that right?"

"Yeah." Francisco agreed after a few moments more of thought, "But her arms are kinda small. If she kinda shoves hard-"

A long, loud scream emanated from within the ward they were guarding.

"Damn," Juan breathed, "I'm beginning to love this job!"

"Yeah," Francisco grinned, "Me too!"   



	12. of Dark Branch

  


**_El Independiente_**

* * *

  
Independent Opinions: Editorial page of The Independent.

Special Edition.

* * *

**_Fortunate Outcomes_**

It is with mixed emotions that this paper has published the headline story by our newest investigative reporter, Lucas Amato. His report, coupled with the recent murders in our city of those suspected of underworld connections, has confirmed our fears of the ambitious rise of a new leader of organized crime. His reprehensible kidnapping of Ikikko Yashimoto in order to conceal his identity has served to confirm his ruthlessness and lack of human compassion. As readers of the lead article know, this leader has turned out to be Miguel Cornazon, the notoriously deceptive ex-drug lord who was driven out of his jungle sanctuary by the native uprising following the excape of Police Chief William Ryan. Having been unable to continue plaguing the country, this parasite has now come to infect our city.

Unlike that earlier kidnapping, we are pleased that there was no anxiety, fears or prayers expressed concerning the fate of Ikikko, who was quickly and valiantly rescued and returned safely to her brother. We assure our readers that both brother and sister are at a safe house run by this paper, and will remain there under our care and protection until this bandit's reign of terror is ended.

We pledge to continue vigorously investigating and reporting on this grave development that threatens the peace and safety of our fellow citizens, while thanking Providence for the safe return of a little member of our community.

* * *

**_Wise Decisions_**

We note with approval the summary dismissal by Judge Carlos Megillo of malpractice charges leveled at Meridiana General Hospital and Dr. Reba Pearce, the ER doctor responsible for the care of the thugs wounded during the rescue of Ikikko Yashimoto. Indeed, these ingrates should be grateful that she was visiting the ER when they were brought in, and thus benefitted from the skills she aquired and so ably demonstrated in the States.

Judge Megillo correctly pointed out that these accomplices to kidnapping lied about the cause of their injuries. Thus, Dr. Pearce had every reason, based on her observations of the nature of their injuries, and on her experience (which is considerable and should not be questioned regarding the criminal elements in our society), to disbelieve them and act by her own best judgment. Indeed, their falsehoods might have led a lesser physician to make incorrect judgments that would have threatened their recovery, if not their very lives.

Once again, Judge Megillo has shown the courage and wisdom necessary to forsee and prevent a miscarriage of justice. We hope that he will be the one to conduct the trial of Cornazon and his henchmen once they are apprehended. 

* * *

**_Generous Deeds_**

While on the subject of Dr. Pearce, we were pleased, but not at all surprised, to discover that Cyprus and Serena Trodden have taken it upon themselves to retain the services of the good doctor to care for Ikikko Yashimoto during her recovery from this terrible ordeal. Dr. Pearce's initial report is that, by happy coincidence, the interaction occurring immediately after the rescue between Ikikko and the Trodden's daughter, Bethany, was the best "first aid" therapy possible. The prospects of her suffering no lasting harm, we are told, are very good.

So it is with our prayers, best wishes, and confidence that we leave this fortunate child in the hands of the finest pediatrician in our city, if not in the Southwest hemisphere. We also wish to commend the Troddens for adding yet another compassionate act of charity to the multitude that they have already rendered to our city, and urge that visitors to the Trodden residence excuse the excessive parential pride they must now be justifiably feeling about their daughter.   


* * *

  
**_Mysterious Puzzles_**

We should not let our relief and thankfulness about the rescue of Ikikko blind us to several mysteries surrounding this and another related event. We are referring, of course, to the circumstances of the rescue itself, as well as those surrounding the unusual escape of Police Chief William Ryan from the very same individual.

Although we were thankful for the return of our talented and resourceful Police Chief, his silence concerning the events that initiated the prison riot in Cornazon's camp remain a puzzle. That riot, our readers are reminded, led to the arming of the imprisoned farmers that refused to go along with Cornazon, the general uprising of the entire region, and the killing of most of Cornazon's bandits. We now know it also has led to him coming to our unfortunate city.

It is equally a puzzle that no encrypted radio transmissions were made during the night when Ikikko Yashimoto was rescued, which would have been logically required to call out all active police units to participate in the operation. Chief Ryan has admitted to recieving a "hot tip" about the impending firefight, but did nothing other than to send two officers with shotguns to secure the ward that eventually held the suspects.

Our readers are referred to the story on page 2 concerning our investigation, after Ikikko's rescue, of the warehouse where she was held, and our interviews of the accused who were able to talk. Their testimony of a woman, clad in black leather, being the sole person responsible for their injuries and the rescue must obviously be received with considerable skepticism. This woman, assuming these reports are true, would have to be possessed of incredible speed, considerable strength, extraordinary marksmanship, astounding dexterity, and the possessor of a level of strategic and tactical insight worthy of an American Army Ranger or Navy Seal commander.

An initial interview with Ikikko was unsuccessful in revealing the true circumstances regarding the rescue. We hasten to assure our readers that she has told us that no one had threatened her if she talked, and that her silence was due to the obvious desire of her rescuers to remain anonymous. Memory loss associated with trauma is not indicated, for she was able not only to identify her captors, but had met Cornazon himself and was able to identify him out of a set of photographs. Brave girl, to be willing to testify against these brutes! We commend her loyalty to those who risked their lives for her, but we are still left with our puzzle.

A few clues and facts, however, allow us to see the faint outline of the shadow behind the reality.

Firstly, our City's Police Chief has refused to comment about the details of his escape. At first, we believed this was motivated by modesty, but this last incident leads us now to believe otherwise. We believe he knows the identity and nature of his rescuers, but that his commendable honesty forbids him the luxury of a flat denial. The nature of Cornazon's jungle stronghold has been long known thanks to satellite technology shared with our nation by the United States Drug Enforcement Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency. The nature of that rescue seems to mirror the cirumstances surrounding Ikikko's, leading us to conclude that the same individuals performed both rescues.

The second clue comes from the nature of both rescues themselves. It has been established by investiations of Cornazon's abandoned jungle compound and interviews with the former prisoners that all of the fatalities were inflicted by the prisoners, not the rescuers themselves. Instead, the prisoner-farmers told us of a diversion created near the dormitory area of the compound that drew away almost all of Cornazon's men there, allowing a black clad figure to enter the prison and free Chief Ryan. It was Chief Ryan who passed the keys to the prisoners. After they freed themselves, they found the guards unconsious and the weapons locker broken open, enabling them to arm themselves and successfully fight and defeat Cornazon's men, who had depleted their ammunition fighting the diversion.

Connect these facts with the fact that all of Cornazon's bandits holding Ikikko were injured and not killed. Certainly, some were severely injured, but death would not have resulted if they were promptly taken to a hospital.

Our readers are reminded that the policy of all Special Forces units worldwide charged with combatting terrorism is "Shoot to kill". The wounded may still be able to shoot, the reasoning goes, so kill them before they kill you.

Combine this observation with the fact that the rescue unit did not deliver Ikikko to a police station, but instead to the Trodden residence. This is highly significant: the rescuers went out of their way to avoid any association with the police. A Special Forces unit run by the military would have returned her to the custody of another governmental agency, not to the care of a private citizen.

A private rightist paramilitary group might have the resources to train the members of this force to a fair level of skill and competence, but not to a level that the local Amercian military attache has characterized as surpassing what can be mustered by the best military forces of the world. Besides, they would have adopted the same policy regarding lethal force, and would not have left any of these thugs alive.

Thus, we are led to suggest the possible existence of a secret Special Forces unit within our own police department; developed, deployed, and kept tighly on a leash by no one other than Ryan himself. While the presence of such a unit under earlier police chiefs would have posed a definite and grave danger to the liberties of the citizenry, they did not possess the insight, ingenuity, and sterling character of the present occupant of the office required to develop the force itself and instill within its members the remarkable restraint demonstrated during these rescues.

Skepticism is understandable: Given the world-class level of professionalism and skill demonstrated by the unit during these actions, how did Ryan do it and from where did he get the funds and trainees? However, the promised transformation of the police department itself by Chief Ryan was greeted with even more skepticism and doubt, with this paper being the admitted ringleader of the doubting Thomases. One should not blame Chief Ryan for wanting a first rate Special Forces unit to compliment a first rate police department in situations like this, nor should anyone repeat our mistake of underestimating his ability to come up with the means to get the job done.

We conclude this lengthly special editorial section on four notes, one of warning, one of thanks, one of caution, and one of advice.

Firstly, it is you, Cornazon, not the citizens of Meridiana, who should be sleeping uneasily tonight. Your pretensions of generosity and compassion have been exploded thanks to this disgusting act of stupidity and cowardice in kidnapping a pre-teenager. We hope and expect soon to see you either in jail or in a coffin.

Secondly, to the Special Forces unit under Ryan's command: Well done!

Thirdly, to Police Chief Ryan. The existence of a secret force of this competence and skill dedicated to our protection is cause for relief, but also of concern: Your successor may not be as great a man of integrity and dedication as you are, and may misuse it like your predecessors would. We call on your legendary ingenuity to implement the necessary safeguards against misuse of this incredible asset, so that they may continue to serve as the protectors of the people, and not their masters.

Fourthly, to Mayor Wilson: Give these men a raise!

-------------------------   
Mr. Diortti chuckled and struck the armrest of his chair as he finished reading the editorial section of The Independent.

"What is it, Papa?" Mrs. Diortti asked, looking up from her knitting.

"You should read today's Independent, including the editorials! Hah! I am not sure whether to believe in the woman in black leather or in the special police force unit, but Cornazon is going to get his just deserts, one way or the other!"

"Woman in black leather? Special police force unit? Give that to me! What are they talking about?"

Mr. Diortti passed the paper over to her, then settled back and lit up the Cuban cigar he had bought when he saw the headlines, "Hmm, I think we know someone who they're talking about." he mused, "No matter which one is telling the truth."   
---------------------   
"BETHANY!!!" Techno 54 called.

"What mommy?" came floating down. The patter of feet was heard as they ran to the stairs, then down the stairs, through the front hall, to end by skidding to a halt in front of her mother.

Serena, Techno 54, knelt down and threw her arms around her little girl to give her a big hug, Cyprus, Techno 53, put down his copy of The Independent and got up to await his turn.   
----------------------   
"Dr. Pearce! Dr. Pearce!" Mr. Ariosto, manager of Merdiana General Hosptial, called after the short figure striding down the hall.

"WHAT!?" She turned, irritated, to glare at him, thinking _"You overweight, pompous, pennypinching son of a-"_

"Did you see today's Independent?" he asked, huffing and waving it in her face.

"I've been on my feet for 48 hours, running all over this hospital and Meridiana! I'm due for a half hour break! I DON'T want to spend it with YOU!" she snapped at him.

"That lawsuit was dismissed!" he pointed at the paper, "And there is a great write up about you in the paper today! It is wonderful advertising for the hospital!"

"If you weren't shmoozing on the golf course all day, or stuffing your face at your power lunches, you'd have found out the moment it happened!" she said, rolling her eyes.

"But I didn't know you knew the Troddens!"

"Well-" she started, thinking _"Oh SHIT!"_

"Do you think you could talk to them into increasing their donation to the hospital during the next charity fund drive?"

"I'll think about it! Now quit bugging me!" she said, plucking the paper out of his hand, thinking, _"The man's brains must be made of paper money or loose change!"_

She glanced at the paper as she went into the Doctor's lounge.

Twenty minutes later, the nurses at the floor station were startled to hear hysterical laughter coming from the lounge.

"Sounds like Reba." one remarked.

"Must be a good joke." said another, "Maybe she'll share it with us."   
-----------------   
Lucas Amato frowned as he put down his copy of The Independent. Sally, the waitress, came by with a pot of coffee, "Why the glum face, Lucas? That was a great article!" she said, "Want another cup?"

"Yes, please." he thought for a long moment, "Something isn't adding up, and I need to find the missing figures."

"Really? Think it'll be another great story?" she asked.

"I dunno. Just need to cover all the bases." he said.

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

Lucas was deep in thought when Elaine entered the cafe, "HI Lucas!" she greeted him, "Great article!"

"Hi Elaine." he said calmly, getting up to help seat her at their table, "Thanks. Late classes again?"

She made a face, "They keep piling on the remedial reading classes! You'd think I was a miracle worker!"

"Hmhmmm." he nodded noncomittaly, looking at the menu that Sally had brought for both of them.

After ordering, Elaine looked at Lucas, "Something is up." she said, "You're not your usual, talkative self."

"The editorial in the paper."

"Oh, the one about the Special Forces police unit that rescued Ikikko?" She said, "Seemed logical to me."

"Except," he said, raising a finger, "I was with you when you asked for the address of the warehouse where Ikikko was held, and left assuring Yashimoto that something would get done. I was there when we took Yashimoto to the Troddens to pick up his sister. When he expressed a desire to thank her rescuers, I overheard Mrs. Trodden expressing a desire to speak with HER too."

"But the editorial-" Elaine started, paling a little.

"-was written by the same bonehead editor who kept adding monster threats to my bioengineering articles!" Lucas said. He reached down into his briefcase and pulled out a magazine which he tossed onto the table between them.

Elaine nervously swallowed hard as Lucas flipped the National Geographic open to a place where there was a sticky note. The top picture dominating both sides of the spread was that of a wolf trotting through the snow. In the lower left hand corner was a picture of Elaine, holding a 35mm camera, looking through some ice covered branches.

"So, what is the world's expert in Wolves and Wolf reintroductions doing here in Meridiana teaching literature and remedial reading, and not at Yellowstone where she really belongs?"   
---------------------   
"HEY HENRIQUE!" A storekeeper called to the plainclothes policeman who was walking by on patrol, "Good job!" he gave Henrique a thumbs up and a wink.

_"Now where did that come from?"_ Henrique wondered as he walked by the newstand. He stopped and leaned down for a quick look at the headlines of the latest issue of The Independent, "I'll have one." he said, pointing to it and reaching into his back pocket for some change.

The newsstand vendor chuckled and put down his copy of the paper to take the money, "Hey Henrique! You probably know more than the paper does, so do you really need it?"

_"Nobody tells me anything!"_ Henrique thought, annoyed, as he tucked the paper under his arm and continued his sweep.

The man chuckled again as he picked up the paper, "Woman in black leather my ass! I wouldn't bet that Henrique WASN'T one of those special forces cops!" he muttered to himself, smiling.   
----------------------   
"But- Yes mayor, but-but it's just speculation! Look, there isn't enough money in the budget for new handcuffs, much less a-

*SIGH* "Yes sir! I'll try to get it to them, sir, which will be difficult, since they really don't exist."*SIGH* "I appreciate the complement, but I really am a rotten actor, sir!

"Safeguards? Not a problem sir! No problem putting safeguards on a special forces unit that doesn't exist- What sir? Well, IF there was one, I'd have done that alread-"

"Umm, no sir. That would NOT be necessary. I really don't need a raise too. Sir? Sir? Damn! He hung up!"

Type 37 shut his cell phone off, scowling.

"What was that dear?" Type 138 asked, not looking up from her magazine.

He looked at the cell phone irritably, "I just got congratulated and given a raise for my special forces unit that rescued that little girl the night before! The one that doesn't exist yet!"

"That's nice. You were planning one, weren't you?"

"Yes, but only when I got my hands on some Cybers to put in it!" he exclaimed, "I'll be retired by the time the first ones decide to get out after their 20 years and come by wanting a police job!"

"Honey, you only need one, you know."

"I dunno." He sighed, "Frankly, I'm amazed. I didn't think she had it in her to plan that rescue."

"356 did a fine job, despite her horrid fashion sense!" she sighed, "Black leather? Oh dear! What's mama going to think about that?"

His cell phone chirped.

"Oh hell!" he exclaimed, noting the caller's phone number that was flashing on the phone's LCD display, "I think I'm about to find out!"

"Just think! There's got to be a good joke somewhere in all this for Christmas!" his wife said brightly, "Be sure to give her my love!"   
--------------------------   
"Wow! I understood most of that!" Gordo exclaimed, looking up at Scylla.

"Well, I didn't know most of those big words, but we're learning to read!" Julian hopped out of his chair at the table in the back kitchen area at the Irish Mug, where Scylla was conducting their reading lessons. He made like he was pointing a gun, "POW! POW! POW! Gotcha, ya mean kidnappers! Man! I'd like to get on that special unit of Ryan's when I grow up!"

"Maybe you might." Scylla said with a smile, her eye glancing back to the editorial page and read something on it, over and over.

"Whatcha bet Henrique was there?" Tomas asked.

"Betcha he was!" Gordo laughed, jabbing at Scylla, "Think he's good enough?"

"I would think so." she replied after a moment's thought.

"For that and for other things too, eh Scylla?" Julian pretended to sway his hips like a hooker fishing for a trick, "ohhhh Henrique!!" he called, waving a limp hand to get someone's attention.

"I'm not THAT bad!" she protested, blushing a little.

"But you'd like him for a trick, eh?" Gordo jabbed at her again, "I've seen that look in your eye when he comes by."

"What look are you talking about?" she said, voice a bit menacing.

Gordo laughed. When it came to them, she always showed more bark than bite.

"CLEANUP TIME!" the voice of Frank O'Brian, the pub's proprietor, boomed out from the front.

"IT'S SHOWTIME!" Julian yelled. The boys grabbed brooms and mops and charged out the double doors to clean the floors and put up the chairs.

Julian's Cleanup Company was on its last job of the day.   
----------------------   
_"Elaine!"_

_"Yes, Cybersix?"_

_"In my office!"_

_Nervous, sinking feeling as she walks behind the Cyber to her office. Tries to imitate the confident stride and body pose, then realizes it comes from within, from the knowledge burned into the nerves, muscle, and bone that comes from long days of training. Immense power and skill, compressed into a slender, spare body willing to take the bullet to save the orphan and defenseless. But only after taking a thousand of the enemy down with it._

_They arrive at the office. She dumps her books on her desk, sits down behind it, and looks up at her severely._

_"What do you want?"_

_"I knew you knew the answer to the question I had asked in class today. Instead, you gave such a bone-headed answer, I could hardly believe my ears! Except, that hasn't been the only bone-headed answer you've given all week!" The onyx black eyes softened, "What's wrong, Elaine?"_

_"N-n-nothing."_

_The hard look returns, "What's the first law around here?"_

_"Tell the truth, always."_

_"Well?"_

_"I-I-I"_

_She puts her elbows on the table, puts her hands together, rests her chin on them, raises her eyebrows, and smiles brightly, "Who is it?" she asks, winking._

_"Ummm. Type 2318!" Damn! How'd she do that???_

_"Oh, the one who wants to be called Sylvester outside?" She nods, "Nice choice. So why the play-dumb act?"_

_"uhhhh."_

_"Let's see. I know he's number two in the class, but if you play dumb, he climbs to number one. Helps make him feel good, right?"_

_Smile. "It's a start."_

_BAM! Hands hit the desktop. Hard, "Forget it! He isn't number one! YOU are! You know it, he knows it, and I know it!" BAM! The stack of books jumps an inch, "Stop the lying, Elaine, and start living the truth! Lying is not an option!"_

_"But you cybers disguise yourselves! Isn't that lying?"_

_"Yes, we do disguise ourselves. But if we were asked, 'Are you really a secret agent for a Family insanely bent on pursuing the ruthless imposition of world peace and thus a traitor opposing our dictator's plans for pillage, plunder, rape, domination and genocide?', we'd answer, 'Hell yes!' Anything less would betray our family and the values that makes it's existence just, noble, and right! The truth, Elaine! We must either live by the truth, or die at the hands of lies! One or the other!"_

_"Y-y-yes, Cybersix!" Damn, she even sounds like a Drill Instructor! Must be that leadership training!_

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Elaine jumped at Lucas' voice, "What?"

"A penny for your thoughts?"

"Oh, thinking of a-" Elaine thought a moment, then smiled, "relative and good friend. I wish she was here." _"And me verrrry faaar away!" _she thought.

Lucas sighed, regetting ever asking that question at the table. The whole evening suddenly went straight to hell like a duck hit broadside with a couple of shotgun shells at ten paces. He had discovered the photo while searching for slides on canine behavior for his biology class, taking advantage of the student interest in newspaper reports of a pack of feral dogs running through the streets of Meridiana.

Lucas had concluded that the Troddens had hired Elaine to help advise the city on their capture. They never settled for anything less than the best. He had decided to bide his time until after the dogs had been captured to blow the story and get the inside scoop before Elaine retreated back to the Rockies. His suspicions had been confirmed when Elaine had led them to the Troddens to pick up Ikikko, and was greeted as warmly as if she was a family member or a long-time friend.

Despite his philanthropy, Cyprus Trodden was no fool. He was so crazy about his daughter that the possibility of her being a kidnap victim was sure to occur to him. He most likely had hired and arranged for the training of that crack team of mercenaries for events like this. They'd be highly skilled enough to not kill anyone to prevent traumatizing Bethany if she had been the kidnap victim. Rescuing Ikikko would appeal to the man's compassionate side, as well as allow him to see how his new "toy" would work in real life.

Yes, Cyprus Trodden never settled for anything less than the best. And whatever he had paid, he had certainly gotten his money's worth. Cyprus Trodden always got his money's worth.

Yes. That would be the perfect story. Everything was falling neatly into place.

That is, until Serena had mentioned "her".

After asking the question, he had watched, bewildered, as Elaine deteriorated visibly as the minutes passed, becoming more and more agitated. He had finally decided to cancel the order and walk her home.

Somehow, she reminded him of Miao Yashimoto, "Hey! Calm down!" he counseled her, "You're acting as if your family is being threatened!"

_"It is!"_ she thought, finally deciding on a course of action, "Lucas, can you-"

"There he is!"

Elaine stopped speaking and jerked her head to the side. Lucas could not have heard that statement, but her ears picked up the quiet voice of a man whispering to a companion.

"Can I what?" Lucas asked.

Elaine grabbed Lucas' arm, wrapped hers around it, leaned her head on his shoulder, and whispered, "Two men behind us!"

Lucas laughed and leaned his head on hers, "Really?" he whispered. She nodded, looking around for a way of escape without betraying her secret.

"The alley?" Lucas suggested.

Elaine nodded. Their pace picked up slightly.

"They're on to us!" "How-" "Forget it! Don't let him get away!"

"They know!" she whispered as they turned hurriedly down the alley.

It was blocked, a pile of overflowing trash cans stacked up against the wall erected half way down the alley to block through traffic.

Five dogs scrounging through the garbage suddenly jerked their heads up and looked at them. One started growling and began approaching them deliberately.

"Oh damn!" Lucas glanced at the dogs, then around at the two men whose sillouettes were visible, blocking the only way out of the alley.

"Nice article, news guy!" one called out, "The best one in your short career!"

"Yeah!" the other chuckled, "The ONLY one in your short career!"   
----------------------   
Scylla glanced up from the paper when Julian and Tomas crept in through the double doors, "Julian-" she started to say warningly.

Julian held a finger to his lips and shook his head frantically, pointing at the double doors. Tomas was white as a sheet.

Frowning, Scylla got up and walked over to the double doors. She pushed on one door to create a crack to take a peek, took it, then immediately dropped down into a crouch.

"GET OUT KID! WE'VE GOT PRIVATE BUSINESS TO DISCUSS!" a voice from the dining area boomed out. There was the sound of falling chairs and the scramble of feet, then Gordo burst in through one of the doors.

"Stay!" Scylla hissed as she silently slipped out into the dining room area before the door swung back.

"But-" Gordo started to say.

"Bad guys for sure! Two of 'em!" Julian said worredly.

"Yeah but-" Gordo repeated.

"Ya think she can handle them like she did Andre?" Tomas interrupted.

"But-" Gordo began to wave his hands.

"Who knows? She sure looks like she knows what she's doing." Julian said.

"But-" Gordo began hopping up and down.

"I betcha-" Tomas started.

"ONE OF THEM'S GOT A GUN!" Gordo practically shouted.

"WHAT??" Julian and Tomas yelled at him.

Suddenly, there was a loud CRACK outside, then the sounds of a man shouting, followed by the crash of falling chairs and tables. The boys jumped at the sharp report, which sounded like a gun with a cheap silencer going off.

Frank burst in through the double doors, ran to the phone, picked it up, then threw it down, cursing, "The bastards cut both lines! Boys! Quickly go find someone to call the police and an ambulance! Through the back door! Hurry!"

Julian and his gang dashed out the back door and down the street to the gas station at the corner, where they knew the attendant had a phone.

"What do you think happened?" Tomas gasped as they ran.

"Bad luck! It always comes after us when things go good with us!" Gordo wailed.

"JUST HURRY!" Julian shouted behind him as he outran them all, "Scylla might be in trouble!"   



	13. of Dark Branch

Paradise Falling... Chapter 13, Dark Branch "Get behind me!" Elaine ordered Lucas, keeping her eyes locked at the approaching dog, a middle-sized wire terrier. 

"But-" Lucas protested. 

"BEHIND ME!" she grabbed his shirt and shoved him behind her back into the wall, always maintaining eye contact. She'd have to make her move soon, and she didn't want Lucas in the way. The others were taking their cue from the leader. 

Lucas glanced back at the two hitmen standing in the alleyway. They had their hands in their pockets, jovially talking to each other and laughing. _"Waiting for the show."_ he thought. 

"Rrrrrrrr!" Elaine growled from deep within her throat. 

_"Wha-?" _ Lucas thought. 

"Rrrrr!" The leader replied. Elaine could smell it: a male. She noticed a ragged collar on the dog also. _"Abandoned, damn it!"_ she thought. 

"RRRR!" Elaine growled louder, projecting thoughts of dominance toward the pack leader. 

The dog stopped growling and took a half step back, ears twitching. 

"RRRRRRRRAAAAAA!" Elaine barked, then suddenly whirled around and glared back up the alleyway at the two hitmen. 

The pack leader glanced where she was looking, uttered a deep growl in its throat, then suddenly launched itself down the alleyway, barking. The others immediately fell in behind their leader, baying and howling in a mad scramble that threw loose papers into the air. 

The hitmen lost a few precious seconds staring in unbelief at the sight of the dogs bearing down on them. One fumbled for the gun he kept under his coat, but finally settled for turning and following his parter in a mad dash down the street. The dogs made a wide turn, knocking over a trashcan before disappearing from sight. Their howls, and the screams of the hitmen, faded away into the distance. 

"What was THAT?" Lucas asked, astounded. 

"Now THAT is a damn good pack!" Elaine said, in a tone of voice that an admiral would use in complimenting a captain for running a tight ship. 

"I mean, what did you do?" Lucas demanded. 

"I merely reasserted human authority over that poor homeless dog." she replied. 

"Poor homeless- That beast almost attacked us!" 

"Of course it would, the poor thing! Didn't you notice the collar?" 

"Well-" Lucas rubbed the back of his head. 

"It was abandoned! Driven out from its proper home! So were the others, I'm sure!" Elaine frowned angrily, "Feral dogs indeed! Who thought of that wild story?" 

"Umm, ahhh..." 

"Let me guess!" she turned to face him, "Your bio-monster obsessed editor, right?" 

Lucas smiled sheepishly and nodded. 

She looked at him critically, "Just how much of his thinking does he do for you, Lucas?" 

"Hey! That's-" he started, then stopped, thoughts obviously racing through his mind. 

She cut him off with a wave of her hand, "Forget it! I was going to tell you something that was very personal and very important to me. Only, I don't think you'd understand how wonderful it really is, because that stupid editor of yours has poisoned your mind already!" She whipped her forelock of hair out of her face, turned on her heel, and started walking purposefully out the alley. 

"Where are you going?" Lucas ran up behind her. 

"I'm going to find that pack, of course!" 

"But it's dan-" Lucas started, only to stop when Elaine stopped, whirled around, and looked at him, her eyes seeming to burn through him. 

"Ohhh! Okay!" Lucas threw up his hands, "I won't push it! Besides, why are you going after this pack now?" 

"Didn't you notice?" 

"What?" 

"The leader was the middle one in size, which is very rare. I've GOT to find out what makes that pack tick!"   
----------------------------   
"Okay honey, breathe in, please" Dr. Reba Pearce requested of the little girl. 

She inhaled deeply, then coughed a little. Dr. Pearce tried not to show her concern at the deep gurgling in the girl's lungs. 

"Have you been going to bed on time?" Dr. Pearce asked her, grinning, "Too much TV?" 

The girl smiled shyly and nodded. 

"Dr. Pearce! Dr. Pearce!" a nurse appeared at the door. 

"I'm with a patient!" she replied irritably. 

"We have a problem in the Emergency room!" 

She sighed, "Can it wait?" 

"Well, Dr. Torres is very insistent..." 

"I'll wait." the girl replied in a soft voice. 

"No, you won't." Dr. Pearce picked up the chart and scribbled on it, "I'm afraid you'll have to stay at the hospital for a few more days, Carmelita." 

"Ohhh!" 

"But if you tell me the shows you watch late at night, I'll get them taped and you can see them in the mornings, okay? No more staying up late!" 

"All right!" She made a face, "More shots?" 

"I'm afraid so. I hate them too!" she added confidentially. 

"You take them?" 

"All the time!" she replied, "I'm a doctor, after all!" _"Even if I don't really NEED the immunity."_ she thought privately to herself. She tweaked the girl's nose, "Get dressed and lie down until I get back with the shots." 

Once outside the room, Dr. Pearce pulled out her short-range hospital cell-phone and punched in the "911" code for the emergency room on-call doctor, "Pearce here." she said when Dr. Torres answered the phone. 

"Ah! Reba! I've got a real problem here!" 

"What?" 

"I have two men with severe bites from those feral dogs that have been running around." 

"Sounds standard enough. Why bother me about it?" 

"Ummm, well, they happen to have guns..." 

_"Aha!"_ Cyber 5000 thought, grinning, "And you want to transfer them to me, right?" she complained. 

"If you could, really-" He pleaded, "I mean, you're the expert in these sorts of characters." 

"Ya owe me two night shifts already, Jorge! You're adding a third?" she whined, thinking, _"C'mon! Bite! Bite! Bite!"_

"I'll take tomorrow night for you! I promise!" 

_"Yes!"_ she exulted, "Ohhh! Okay!" she replied reluctantly, "Transfer them to me, patch the holes up, put them on Rabies Series B and the usual gunshot of antibiotics, then wheel them into the ward with the others under my charge." 

"The antibiotics I understand, but Series B???" 

"Has anyone caught these animals?" 

"Well, no." 

"Series B is for when you don't know, Jorge. You know that." 

"Well, okay." he replied, "Thanks, Reba." 

"I'm not letting you off tomorrow night, Jorge! You know that!" 

"I know!" 

Cyber 5000 grinned as she put away the phone. Series D could be taken orally and was just as effective, but Series B was an older and cheaper medicine that required daily injections over a 14 day period directly into the stomach using a needle as long as a ruler and which felt as big as a pencil. Combined with the antibiotics ("just to be safe and sure"), those two wouldn't be able to eat or hold a bowel movement for two weeks. 

She whistled as she went to get the shots ready for Carmelita. Her patients preferred taking their shots from her than from an adult nurse.   
--------------------------------   
Police Chief Ryan glanced through the rap sheet, "Interesting. She killed him with a blow to the spinal column?" 

Henrique nodded, "The bastard never had a chance to pull the trigger. Happened so fast, it froze the muscles in place. Must have sounded like a gunshot, which is why the street urchins who reported it thought she had been shot instead. The coroner is worried he'll have to cut the fingers off to get the gun out of his hand." 

"Bury him with it. Don't sugarcoat the way the asshole lived," Ryan grumbled, "What's your take?" 

"Justifiable defense of another person. Frank has a gun, but couldn't reach it without getting shot first." 

"You think she's the one who's cleaned that street out?" 

"Hard to believe, isn't it?" Henrique glanced through the small window set in the door to the cell, heart skipping a beat despite himself. The somber young woman was sitting on the bed, "She looks so petite. Pretty too." _"Too pretty for my own good."_ He thought, wondering why the room had suddenly gotten a bit hot. "The Diorttis and I have talked to her about her, ah, profession, but she's got family problems, it seems." 

"Maybe. Maybe not." Ryan muttered. He looked up, "But lucky for Frank, she didn't take your advice." 

"What are you going to do?" 

"I'll interrogate her, of course, then let her go." Ryan shrugged, "There's no law against defending another, and the perp was killed in the very act. Besides, the DA's going to have a hell of a time trying to get a jury to convict someone who killed a threatening gunman with her bare hands." 

"Do you think the shakedown has something to do with Cornazon?" Henrique asked. 

"Without a doubt. Georges and Tomas on either side of your beat heard about what was happening on that street through their snitches. Things are getting hot now that Cornazon's been flushed." 

Henrique just stood there and looked at his Police Chief. 

"What?" Ryan asked the obvious question. 

"Is it true?" Henrique asked, "About the special forces police unit?" 

"Hell no!" Ryan faced him, "Henrique, you'd be the first one I'd ask to join. Trust me." 

Henrique paused for a moment, then asked, "So who saved the girl?" 

"Would you believe the woman in black leather?" Ryan said truthfully. 

Henrique looked at him for a moment longer, then bent over and guffawed loudly, nearly knocking his boss over pounding him on the back. He wiped at his eyes, "That's a good one! You'd make a great straight man, chief! I think I'll take my break now! It's been a long night!" 

"You do that!" 

Ryan watched Henrique leave the basement detention block, once again marvelling at the power of raw honesty. He then nodded at the guard, who unlocked the door and let him in. 

He regarded the girl for a few long moments as the door was locked behind him. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a Cuban cigar, bit the ends off, and began to fish for his lighter, "Mind if we talk?" he asked her. 

She shrugged, looking at the floor. 

He grunted, pulled a chair up in front of her, sat down with his back to the door, found his lighter, and lit the cigar. After getting it started, he inhaled deeply, and started blowing smoke rings. 

The girl smelled the smoke, looked up, and did a double take the moment she saw the smoke rings. 

"Hell!" Type 37 remarked, noting that he had gotten her attention, "You don't believe I'd do THAT in front of a Fixed Idea, would you? They'd burn down the compound trying to light up banana leaf cigars!" 

He leaned back and looked at her for a long moment, having forced her into a small smile. He shook his head, "Damn 356, you look so much like her, it hurts." He sighed, "She saved my life, you know." 

She started at the mention of "356" and bit her lip, which did nothing to stop it from trembling a little. 

"I'll always appreciate that. I still can't figure out why she killed herself. Do you have any ideas?" 

She shrugged and nodded, but still didn't say anything. 

"Not very talkative, are you? Fine. I'm used to that." He puffed his cigar some more, "Now legally, I'm supposed to let you go, since what you did was justifiable defense. Morally, I ought to tie you up with about 30 meters of battleship anchor chain and send you back to the compound with a nice red bow tied around your pretty head. In actuality, I'm going to do the legal thing, as well as make a report to the compound detailing what you were doing and how you were captured. And THAT is going to be messy." 

She watched him blow some more smoke rings. 

"Look," he waved his cigar at her, "You know the plan. You were supposed to serve your time in the army, get honorably discharged, then get hired into the police force to do legally what you've been doing illegally for the last couple weeks. Protecting and helping people is in your blood, although couldn't you have chosen something different to wear? Skin-tight black leather? Mama called up and gave me hell the moment it got out! Can you imagine how she's going to react when she finds out that you were serving mankind as a prostitute? THAT wasn't exactly the post-army career that father and mama had in mind for you, my dear Cyber sister. Dammit, you know the Golden Rule: Don't make mama unhappy, 'cause if mama ain't happy, then ain't nobody happy!" 

He sighed, watching as she dropped her head and tried to hide behind the black bangs that fell across her face, "Have anything to say?" he asked her gently. 

She shook her head, not looking up. 

"Hey sister, don't you want to go back home?" He asked, "I'll put in a good word for you. Okay, maybe you're not on the police payroll as planned, but you did good cleaning out the street and rescuing that little girl. Maybe the training board will have pulled their heads out of their asses by now and face the real world that I have to work in all the time and cut you some slack. Certainly more than they gave poor Six. I know Kayla can fix your records computer-wise. Then you can come back here and work for me, for I sure can put a Cyber to good use on the streets. How does that sound?" 

She looked up, eyes welling, and shook her head in dissent. 

He sighed, "I'm probably going to regret this." He muttered, "Are you planning to go back to the same street?" he asked her. 

She nodded, looking a bit chagrined, as if she couldn't help herself. 

"This whole damn mess started when Cornazon grabbed me, and it's turned into a family feud. Him or us. Six should be here to finish the job, but she's down, so it's up to you. I expect things to get very hot very soon. The dame in leather-" here, Ryan rolled his eyes, "is being poo-pooed by everyone, but Cornazon's going to believe his men. They'll put that up against what you did last night, and they're going to come after you. Or I should say that he's going to come after you." 

Her eyebrows went up. 

"Yes. You heard right. The word seems to be out that working for the Big C is bad for your health, so to regain status, he's got to go after you himself, with his lieutenants. _Machismo_ and all that. THAT'S when you can take them, and him, out. Are you game?" 

She nodded firmly, a look of determination on her face. 

He smiled, "I knew I could count on a Cyber in a fight! Do that, and I'll try my best to get you Six's own bars. Should stay in the batch anyhow. Think you can make her proud?" 

She nodded, smiling wryly. 

"Good. You'll be writing the book, so do your best. I wish I could hug you, but we may be noticed. Drop by my house if you need some sustenance or want that hug from me and the missus. Good luck, sister." 

She nodded again, smiling, her eyes welling again. He smiled, blew her a kiss, then got up and rapped on the door. 

"What is she going to do, Chief?" the guard asked him after letting him out and closing the door behind him. 

"Looks like she wants to stay on that street she's protecting." Chief Ryan glanced through the paperwork attached to the rap sheet and began to sign the release forms. 

"I hope she survives." The guard glanced at her through the window set into the door, "Doesn't look like much." 

"What counts is not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog." 

"I'd say she was a fox." The guard grinned. 

Chief Ryan said nothing, but grimaced when his back was turned. Female Cybers took so much shit from male chauvinists, it was a wonder one had not already punched the head off the shoulders of her tormentor. All were usually assigned desk jobs in the armies they were in, and got hit up constantly. Hopefully, he'd have that sort of crap rooted out of his outfit before the first ones arrived, "I'll send somebody down to spring her ASAP." 

He walked up the stairs, feeling elated. True, he had accomplished a lot with the normals on the police force, but just having a Cyber in the city working with the police made him feel that a real professional had just walked in, and that everything was going to be fine. 

He blinked when he walked around to the front desk and saw a small crowd milling in front of it, "What is this?" he asked, handing the rap sheet and forms to the desk sergeant. 

"Hello, Chief Ryan." A man stepped forward, "I'm Frank O'Reilly, proprietor of the Irish Mug." 

"Ah! The one who was hit up for protection money last night, only to be saved by a whore with a mean karate chop?" Chief Ryan asked. 

"Who insisted on the police being called!" Frank shook his head, "You know she killed that bastard defending me! She should be released!" 

"Yeah!" a orange-blonde-headed boy piped up, "An' she's nice too! A lot nicer than you think!" 

Chief Ryan held his hands up when he saw that others were going to spring to the girl's defense, "I've signed the release papers! She'll be with you shortly after we file everything. In the meantime, if I can have a word with all of you in private…" he beckoned to a room off to the side. 

"I think I should be in on this." Henrique stated. He had been talking to them before Ryan's arrival, and had retreated when his chief became the center of their attention.. 

"You're right." Ryan nodded, "Better introduce me to them." 

As Ryan was introduced to the collection of shopkeepers, street urchins, and prostitutes, he became proud that 356 had made such a loyal, if somewhat diverse, group of friends, "I take it you all are concerned about Miss Scylla Charybdis, correct?" They all nodded, "Well, you have good reason to be. Am I correct in assuming she has been actively taking part in protecting you?" 

They all nodded agreement, "Is she going to be okay?" Mrs. Diortti asked, concern in her voice "They said she wasn't wounded!" 

"And she wasn't." Ryan assured her, "She'd be in the hospital, not here, if she was. However, she is in very grave danger at this moment from Cornazon. She is all that stands between you and him." 

"What kind of danger?" Julian, one of the street urchins, asked. 

"I have every reason to believe that Cornazon is going to personally attack her directly. He will probably make attempts to hire more gunmen to do the job for him, but Miss Charybdis appears to have established a reputation that no one wishes to challenge now. _Machismo_ requires that he do the job himself to regain the respect of his underlings and competitors." 

"So, she's gonna run?" Maureen asked. 

"Scylla won't run!" Julian hotly shot that comment at Maureen. 

"Makes good sense to me." She replied, "People will get hurt in the crossfire, right? That's us, people!" 

"Ha! I'll sooner take my chances on our street with Scylla on it, than in this station without her!" Mr. Diortti replied. 

"Papa!" Mrs. Diortti said doubtfully. 

"Bah! I'm tired of running and hiding! Besides, if she stays in front of my shop, I'll see all the action!" 

"And get some of the bullets, too! Scylla's the damn bravest gal I've ever met," Maureen continued, glancing at Julian in an attempt to mollify him, "But she cares too much for other people to want to put them in danger." 

"Well, she-" Ryan started, only to be interrupted by Julian shouting, "SCYLLA!" 

She had just stepped into the room, and looked somewhat surprised at the crowd of people there. The group quickly surrounded her, Frank being the first to give her a hug. Ryan couldn't make out her voice, soft and low, against the general babble, but it was obvious that the group was very happy to see her. 

"Umm, Mr. Ryan..." Mrs. Diortti pulled away from the group and approached him, "May I make a suggestion?" 

"Of course, ma'am." 

"Could you find a way to have someone assigned to help Scylla for the next few days, until all this is over?" 

"Such as?" 

"Hmmm." Mrs. Diortti winked at him and glanced at Henrique. Ryan followed her gaze, and nodded. 

"I think that can be arranged." Ryan said, winking back and smiling, "HENRIQUE!" 

"Yes, sir!" Henrique pulled his eyes off Scylla onto his boss. 

"You're on special assignment with Miss Charybdis until all this blows over!" 

"Sir?" this came out in a squeaky tone that Ryan had not thought possible out of the huge plainclothes detective. 

Ryan noted Scylla's surprised, but happy, reaction, _"Falling for a civil servant, eh? Makes perfect sense to me, too."_ he thought. "You heard me!" he said, walking to the door and nodding to everyone, "I'll take care of the roster. Nice to meet all of you." 

He walked out the door and immediately noticed Raoul Martes, the questionable lawyer, at the front desk, "Well, Raoul! Come to spring your client?" he asked him cheerfully. 

"Ahh, Chief Ryan! Good to meet you. Yes, I'm here to obtain the release of my client. But I am puzzled." 

"About what?" 

"Everyone deserves a chance for bail, but isn't 100,000 a bit high?" 

"Judge Megillo took great pleasure in setting that figure himself." Ryan replied, "Take it up with him if you've got a problem with it. We just enforce the law around here." 

"Um, hmm! And what about the murderer of my other client?" he asked, "What is her bail?" 

"I just released her. Justifiable defense." 

"Justifiable-! THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!" Martes shouted. 

"Two witnesses say your client was guilty as hell!" Ryan replied calmly, "That and a gun we can't pry out of his cold dead fingers." 

"I am going to complain to-" Martes started, when his attention was diverted to the group that had come out of the side room that Ryan had left. They had overhead his last few sentences. He glared at Scylla. 

Scylla noticed. She turned, only to have Mr. Diortti put his hand on her forearm. They exchanged glances, then Mr. Diortti walked over to the lawyer, "I would remind your employer," he said smoothly, with obvious pleasure, "of the story of the Macaque and the Jaguar. He plays the monkey very well." 

Ryan turned away to cough, trying his best not to laugh. Mr. Diortti had referred to the old jungle fable of the macaque who had tricked all the other animals into insulting the Jaguar, only to be revealed as a coward when he refused to try when his turn came. It was often quoted when talking about tribesmen who talked big, but were the first to run when the fight came to them. Part of Cornazon's charm with the populace was that he had been born and raised in the jungle, not the city, and yet had risen to power despite his background. The significance, and insult, of Mr. Diortti's remark would not be lost on him. 

Apparently, Scylla knew the story too, for she was grinning when Mr. Diortti rejoined them. She nodded toward Ryan, then turned and left the police station with her friends. 

_"Good luck, sister." _ Ryan thought, _"I gotta make that report to the Compound now. I wonder how THAT'S going to go over."_   
------------------------   
"I'm going to Meridiana." 

Von Richter looked at Maria across the dinner table, "You are going to WHAT?" 

"I'm going to Meridiana." Maria replied in that tone of voice that Von Richter knew also said, _"And don't waste my time or your breath to convince me otherwise."_

Knowing that he would have better luck arguing for the repeal of the Law of Gravity, Von Richter nevertheless pressed on, "You're going after 356, aren't you?" 

"Yes." 

"She can come home anytime she wants to. She knows that." 

"For goodness sakes, Max! She's stealing sustenance and selling her body to survive!" 

_"Not to mention wearing a leather catsuit and rescuing little girls from gangsters."_ Von Richter thought, having been secretly very proud of his wandering Cyber for that feat. Aloud, he said, "She's a cyber, honey. There's no way you're going to drag her back here. Besides, 37's report said that place is going to be a warzone soon." 

"I'm her mother, and she knows it. I'm counting on that. As well as Kayla, Grizelda, and Quaren." 

"Quaren!?!?" Von Richter gaped, "My dear, how on earth did you convince Quaren to leave my door?" 

"Well, at first she wouldn't. But I showed her the report and she changed her mind." 

"QUAREN!" Von Richter yelled, turning his head, "COME IN HERE!" 

The door opened and Quaren walked in, slid onto the floor next to his chair, tucked her feet under her, and slipped her hands onto his lap and took his gnarled ones in them, "Yes, Father?" she asked. 

He patted her hands, pushing the memory of Cybersix doing what she had just done out of his mind, "My dear, why are you leaving me to go with your mother?" 

"It's going to be dangerous in Meridiana. She needs to be protected." 

"And what about me?" he asked skeptically. 

"The instructor corps for the last year class is going to guard the main residence." she replied. 

"The instructor corps for-" he started, "And who the hell is going to teach the class while you are gone?" 

"Oh, they're going to help." Quaren replied. 

"520 Cybers to replace you?" he asked, exasperated. 

"Well, either I go to get 356, or the 520 Cybers go get her," Quaren remarked lightly, "I figure we'll save on gas if only I go." she added as an afterthought. 

Von Richter just sighed. Quaren got up when Maria rose also. "Oh, I almost forgot," Quaren remarked, "We'll need the limo." 

Von Richter's head snapped up to rivet her with his sharp gaze, "You put a scratch on it, and I'll-" he started warningly. 

Quaren raised her hands, "I'll be careful with it! I promise!" 

"You do that!" 

"And what about me?" Maria pouted, "Am I not more important than that black limosine of yours?" 

"She scratches that limo, she answers to me. She lets you get a scratch, and the entire family's going to be after her tail, not just me!" 

"Yes Father!" Quaren replied, wondering, for a fleeting moment, if it wasn't wiser to stay and send the instructor corps after 356.   



	14. of Dark Branch

Paradise Falling... Chapter 14, Dark Branch Scylla looked out the plate glass window of the Irish Mug as the debate at the table continued. 

"It's too dangerous!" "You're on the other side of the street!" "I'm all for it!" "Let's get 'em!" "Not me!" 

Henrique half listened to the arguments while he looked at Scylla framed in the window, _"She's not afraid at all. Calm, confident. Doesn't seem to mind that a big fat target's been painted on her back."_ he thought admiringly. Aloud, he said, "It seems to me that the shopkeeper most threatened is you, Don." he turned to Mr. Diortti. 

"Yeah," Maureen nodded, "After all, she's parked in front of your door. They shoot her, they shoot into your diner." 

Mrs. Diortti looked distressed, but Mr. Diortti snorted, "Bah! I never realized how much money we were paying to those leeches until I saw Juan with his new car!" Here, he glanced across the table at the tailor who kept shop across the street from him, and was the most vocal opponent of the plan. 

"I don't need everyone," Scylla said, turning and walking back to the table. She slipped into the chair next to Henrique and slid it over so it touched his chair, "I said we needed each other. You've heard my plan," her eyes fixed alternatively on the reluctant shopkeepers who ran stores within 20 meters of her lamppost, "All I'm asking is that when you hear the signal, that you keep your doors open for everyone on the street to get to shelter until the first gunshot is fired. Is that too much?" 

Henrique looked down at her, arm held up awkwardly. Julian nudged Gordo and giggled: It was obvious he didn't know what to do with it. 

"Well. I suppose not." Juan conceded. The other shopkeepers fell in behind and agreed. 

Scylla turned to Maureen, "And you?" 

Maureen shook her head, "I still think you're a stupid bitch, but I know the girls will agree to do their part." Yvette, who was sitting next to her, nodded. 

"You can count on us, Scylla!" Julian piped up when her eyes rested on him, but before she could say anything. The other boys grinned in anticipation.. She smiled and turned her attention to Mr. Diortti. 

"Well, it's all up to you, Mr. Diortti." she said finally. 

"Let's go and finish these scum off!" he said fiercely. Mrs. Diortti looked at him with a mix of pride and chagrin at his fire. 

"I'm not in the plan." Henrique pointed out. 

She turned and gazed up at him, "I didn't expect you to be part of this, but I could still use your help." she said. 

"You've got it." Henrique nodded, knowing he would have agreed without any orders. 

She smiled, "Thanks." she replied softly. 

She got up, "Thanks to all of you." she said, "That's all. We've got a lot of work to do to prepare the diner before the attack." 

"Prepare?" Mrs. Diortti asked, puzzled. 

"Oh yes!" Scylla looked amused, "You didn't think I'd expose you two to danger without preparations, would I?" She wagged at finger at them, "I want to make sure you can tell your grandkids about this episode for many years to come!" 

She turned to Henrique, "I need to talk with you outside about what we'll need to get in the way of supplies." 

"Okay." he looked a bit doubtful, but got up.   
-------------------   
"Oh my goodness!" Harold exclaimed when he opened the door, "Mrs. Von Richter! This is an unexpected surprise!" 

"Thank you, Harold." Maria nodded as she entered the Trodden residence, "How is everyone?" 

"Everyone is fine, madame. Your son left for work an hour ago, and your daughter is out shopping. Bethany is entertaining a-" 

At that moment, the laughter of two girls and the barking of a dog came from the other room. Bethany and Ikikko ran in, a wire terrier bounding alongside at their feet, "GRANMA!!!" Bethany screamed, changed direction, and plowed headlong into Maria's legs, wrapping her arms around them and giving her a hug. Ikikko stood respectfully off to the side and watched as the dog hopped and pawed at Maria. 

Maria smiled, bent over, and hugged Bethany, "And how is my little girl today?" 

"Having fun! Oh!" She put her hand to her mouth, "My manners! Granma, this is Ikikko. Ikikko, this is my grandmother." she introduced them, "Ikikko was bored at the safehouse, so I invited her over for the day." 

"I am honored." Ikikko bowed. 

"Nice to meet you, Ikikko!" Maria bowed back, "I'd like to-AH!" She nearly fell over as the dog almost pushed her over from behind, but Bethany dove for her legs again and propped her back up. 

"Curly!" Bethany rebuked the dog, "Sit and behave yourself! This is Granma!" 

The dog immediately stopped jumping and sat down, tail wagging fiercely, tounge hanging out, ears swivelling like radar dishes. 

"My goodness! Such an obedient dog!" Maria marvelled, at the same time getting the nagging feeling that something was wrong with Curly. 

"You were saying, maam?" Ikikko asked. 

"Oh! Well, I'd like to talk with you about the woman who rescued you later." 

"I know she is Bethany's aunt. Is she your daughter?" Ikikko asked. 

"Yes, she is." 

"It would be my pleasure to do so, maam." Ikikko replied. 

Quaren and Kayla had entered, carrying the luggage, "Harold, where can I park the limo where it will be safe?" Quaren asked, setting her bags down. 

"Keep following the circle, but turn right instead of left. Follow it around to the garage and honk the horn to be admitted. Take the leftmost space." 

"Where do we put these?" Kayla indicated the luggage she was carrying. 

"Upstairs and to the right. Mrs. Von Richter will take the master guestroom, and you two can take the guestrooms." 

"Ummm, no. Quaren said we'd need one next to Bethany's room, as well as Bethany's." Kayla said. 

"Pardon?" Harold asked, prompted by a sure intuition. 

"WHAT!?" Bethany protested, confirming his intuition, "That's MY bedroom!" The dog gave a low growl in support of his mistress. 

"Quaren will explain later, Bethy. It's real important." Kayla assured her 

"You can sleep with granma." Maria offered. 

Normally, that suggestion would have met with immediate approval, but Bethany took on a thoughtful look, as if trying to remember something. 

Kayla shrugged and started running up the stairs, carrying the luggage easily. The luggage Quaren had dropped suddenly lifted into the air and followed her up the steps. 

"Oh!" cried Ikikko. 

Bethany left off thinking and squealed, "Ooohhh! NOW you're in for a scary-vel-ous sight!" her voice took on a deathly tone as she spoke to Ikikko, "Watch out, or the Red-eyed monster's gonna getcha!" 

"There are no such things as monsters!" Ikikko stated, a bit doubtfully, glancing back at the staircase. 

"Oh yes, there aaaarrreeee!" 

"Quit sounding so-" Ikikko started 

There was a cackle of electricity. 

"BOO!" 

"AAAAHHHHH!" Ikikko cried out, falling backwards, startled by the sudden appearance of Grizelda's face a foot from hers Curly whimpered and leaped into Bethany's arms, knocking the girl over. 

"Howya doin', kiddo?" Grizelda grabbed both dog and girl in her arms and spun them around in circles. Curly scrambled and escaped, but Bethany hugged Grizelda's neck. 

"Doin' good, Auntie Griz!" 

"Great! Wanna ride?" 

"YES!" 

Ikikko and Curly were soon chasing Bethany, who appeared to be flying through mid-air. 

"I'll show you up to your guest room, Madame." Harold offered his arm to Maria. 

"Thank you, Harold." Maria leaned on him as they slowly made their way up the staircase, "When did Bethany get the dog?" 

"Late yesterday. It appears that the reports about feral dogs roaming about the streets of Meridiana had been, how shall I put it? Monsterously exaggerated." 

"Feral-" Maria glanced down just in time to see Ikikko fly by, with Bethany and Curly running behind her, "That dog?" 

"Miss Elaine attested to it's extraordinary IQ herself when she brought it by." Harold made a face, "It required several baths to make its odor acceptable to your son." 

Maria then realized that the dog had been missing patches of hair, no doubt from various fights. 

"Here we are." Harold opened the door to the master guestroom and turned on the lights, "Supper will be served in two hours, but I can have a snack brought up if you wish." 

Maria nodded approvingly at the tasteful Louis XIV styling of the room, "Perhaps some juice for energy." she said, smiling, "I'm not often out of the compound." 

"We are humbled to have you here, madame. I'll send a maid up with some juices to choose from and to help you unpack. Is there anyone you wish to invite to dinner?" 

"Let me think about that." Maria said. Harold bowed and left. 

Maria sat down on the bed to rest a moment when her cell phone beeped. She sighed, pulled it out of her dress pocket, opened it up, said, "I'm fine Max!" into it without bothering to listen, then closed it and put it back into her pocket. 

There was a chuckle from the door. Maria glanced up to see Kayla leaning against the doorway, "That battery ought to be going out right about now." Kayla said, smiling as she walked over and sat down next to Maria, "How many times has Father called you today?" 

"I've lost count!" Maria laughed, putting her arm around Kayla's shoulders and pulling her close. Kayla smiled and rested her head in the crook between Maria's shoulder and neck. Maria patted her arm, "Thanks for coming, Kayla." 

"I couldn't possibly say no to you, Mama." Kayla said earnestly, "What plan have you decided on?" 

Maria frowned a little, rocking sideways slightly as she thought for a few moments. Kayla closed her eyes, letting herself sway in time with her mother, "I don't think confronting 37 is going to work." she finally said, "He's responsible for protecting the people of this city, and we can't let our personal needs interfere with that. We'll have to dig up 56's location ourselves." she said, abbreviating the numeric designation of 356 as was customary when the subjects were known. 

"Umm. Yes." Kayla nodded, instinctively adding the "3" to the beginning of the numeric designation, "I COULD try hacking into the police computers, but he'd know I'd do that. Might turn up some interesting stuff though." 

"The newspapers perhaps? And television stations?" 

"For sure. We'll have to look for patterns of Cyber activity. Are we going to try the trap tonight?" 

"Yes." Maria nodded. 

A maid came in bearing a tray of a half dozen tall glasses of various kinds of juice, "It's nice to see you, Mrs. Von Richter." She bowed as she put the tray down, "Ready to unpack?" she asked as Kayla arose and left the room. 

Maria selected a glass of orange juice, "Yes. Let's start with that white one there."   
------------------------   
Cornazon looked thoughtfully at the shot glass of Gin in front of him as he listened to Raoul, his number one lieutenant. 

"Everything's gone to hell!" Raoul complained, "None of our boys are coming back! They're either in jail after that Ikikko girl fingered them, or they were offered one way tickets to the border. Collections are way down because we don't have the muscle to be a threat!" 

"Have you tried hiring new guns?" Cornazon asked, somehow knowing what the answer would be. 

"Sure have! Not a bite! You'd think we were made of poison! I offered twice, triple what the other bosses used to offer, but there are no takers." 

Dinazo, his #2 man, sighed, "I think we should go back to the jungle and start over ag-" 

"There's no starting over!" Cornazon snapped, "If we go back to the jungle, we'll be admitting that we have been bested! No one would respect us! We must stay here and succeed, or die!" 

They had been childhood friends of Cornazon's. They had been through too much to think of leaving him now. They both fell silent for a moment before Raoul asked, "So, what's your plan?" 

"I've put out some feelers for some outside help. It may mean being, obligated, for a period of time. But I think the relationship can be managed." Cornazon said. 

They all fell silent, nursing their drinks, for about twenty minutes when the doorbell rang. Dinazo got up and went to answer the door. 

He returned, followed by two, black clad shapes, that took up positions next to the door and the window. Their faces were hid in black masks, showing only oriental eyes. Cornazon noticed the ornamental hilts of ninja swords strapped to their backs. 

Cornazon arose as an old, slightly built Japanese, dressed like a businessman, entered the room, "Greetings, Mr. Tanoji!" He bowed, "Welcome to Meridiana!" 

Mr Tanoji bowed slightly, then sat down, "I am here to listen to your proposition for a franchise in this delightful city." he said.   
----------------------   
The rental truck pulled up in front of the snack shoppe, turned, and backed up to the door. Scylla and Henrique got out. Scylla tossed her purse to Mr. Diortti, who put it behind the counter while Henrique let the back down. 

"This stuff is heavy." he said as she came back to him. 

"I know. That's what makes it work." she replied, grabbing a sheet of 2 centimeter thick plate steel and slid it out the back. 

Henrique grabbed the trailing end as it came out of the truck, "OOOFFF!" he gasped as it jerked earthward, letting it go as it crashed to the sidewalk, sending stone splinters everywhere. 

"Get a hand cart and be careful!" she said with amusement as she lifted it and took it into the shoppe. Henrique watched, momentarily bewildered, before walking up the street to borrow a hand cart from Frank.   
----------------------   
"Okay." Quaren put her silverware on the plate and nodded at the servant who appeared and took it away, "Are we all set up with the plan?" 

"Yes." Kayla nodded, "You stay in Bethy's room, while Bethy and Ikikko stay with Mama in the guest bedroom. I'm on the roof, and Grizelda will be on the ground." 

Grizelda nodded, swirling her cocktail in her hand, "I moved the sensors, as you said, so we'll pick up when 56 comes for a visit tonight. I jump up from below to cut off her escape, and Kayla comes down from above." 

"And I hop out of bed, go to the window, open it up, and talk to her." Maria finished, "A very good plan, Quaren." 

"All you need is talk to her, mama, and she'll see sense." Techno 54 said. 

Bethany just smiled and slipped a piece of chicken to Curly under the table. Ikikko added another piece and looked at Bethany quizically. Bethany shook her head and rolled her eyes. _"It 'ain't gonna work!"_ was the obvious message Ikikko got. 

"Any luck with the search, sis?" Quaren turned to Kayla. 

"I've some clues." she smiled, "The best is a publicly available city map showing crime rates in color, blue for low crime rates, red for high. The latest edition is fairly blue, but one street is pitch black for three blocks. I'm cross-correlating that against locations of prostitution-related arrests." 

Maria sighed unhappily, shaking her head. Techno 54 reached over under the table and put her hand on Maria's. 

"If you think about it, she really doesn't have much of a choice, mama." Quaren pointed out, "Most jobs require recommendations, and she wouldn't have an ID or birth certificate, and couldn't use the ones she already has." 

"We make them as we need them, " Kayla agreed. 

"It's not that." Maria complained softly, putting her free hand on 54's and patting it, "What I'm wondering about is what's at home that would make her stay away?" 

"The Cyber Training board for one." Grizelda said after sipping at her cocktail, "Have you heard the latest rumor?" 

Kayla and Quaren looked at each other, but remained silent. Maria just sighed, "What is it THIS time?" she asked, exasperated at the prolific and bewildering variety of rumors she'd had to deal with lately. 

Grizelda put her glass down and glanced at Kayla and Quaren, "There was a rumor that Father would use the Six geneset in the next batch of cybers, like he did with 29's." 

"That's an old one." Quaren sniffed. 

"I know. The new rumor is that the training board is going to recommend that the six batchset be written off as mentally unstable and unreliable, and that the batchmates be recalled for reassignment as supervisors to the Fixed Ideas." 

Kayla made a face, "Well, that's just sweet! Six cared so much for those Fixed Ideas, it has some credibility. And I suppose that just because the whole batchset cared for each other so much, that the board's concluded that they've got to be touched or crazy in the head somehow!" 

"Mama!" Quaren started, noticing the look that passed over Maria's countenance. Maria Schweitzer Von Richter was a lousy liar and too old now to learn how to do it effectively, "That's not true, is it?" 

Maria inhaled deeply, "I'm afraid both of those particular rumors are true." 

"But that's not fair!" Bethany protested, "The others who stayed didn't do anything wrong!" 

"And the others who turned themselves in were only reprimanded and returned to duty." Kayla said, "That has to say something about how they get along with Normals. 356 is the only one out there in the cold, so to speak." 

Maria's cell phone rang. She released 54's hands, pulled the cell phone out, opened it up, said, "I am FINE, MAX!", and promptly hung up. 

"Damn." Grizelda marvelled, "Does that thing have quantum batteries, or what?" 

"Maybe." Maria said, putting it back in to her pocket. 

"Well, I've got news that isn't gossip." Kayla remarked, smiling wryly. 

"Let's hear it!" Quaren grinned. 

"Not happy news, I'm afraid," Kayla glanced at Maria, half wondering if she should mention it or not, then decided to go on, "As soon as the inquiry's findings were published, the six and 29 batchsets started an e-mail petition to Father to have him overturn the Leadership ranking decision and settle for a reprimand." 

"Isn't that a bit late?" Techno 53 asked. Cyprus Trodden had learned a long time ago that listening was more profitable than talking, so did more of the former than the latter. 

"Well, it kinda got changed after Six-" she stopped. 

"Go on." Maria urged her. 

"They changed it to a demand to recall the Cyber training board and replace it with a new one." 

"I'd sign in a hot second! How many do they have?" Grizelda asked. 

"I don't know. Being a special, they kinda left me out." Kayla said this with a touch of sadness. 

Quaren leaned over and patted Kayla's hand, understanding. Kayla shot a smile back to Quaren, then continued, "I suppose they've got over 4000 signatures now, judging by the volume of secure, cyber to cyber e-mail flying through the compound's mail server." 

"Well, I suppose I should knock some cyber heads together." Quaren complained. 

"Whatever for?" Grizelda shot a glance at Quaren, "I thought you disagreed with the board too!" 

"I do! I was gonna knock their heads for leaving me out!" 

Ikikko listened in respectful silence, wondering how, as the youngest and newest normal to know about the Von Richter family, she could possibly contain the secrets that Bethany had confided to her, and which she was hearing right now. And this Six person must be someone wonderful to provoke such feelings in these people. The woman who rescued her, Mrs. Von Richter had told her, was somehow more like Six than Bethany's other aunts and uncles. She hoped Bethany would be wrong, for she was anxious for the trap to work so that she could meet her rescuer again. 

For her part, Maria absorbed all this in silence, _"Silly me! What made me think my little Paradise would last forever? But now it's falling apart before my eyes, and I can't stop it!"_ she thought, blinking back her tears.   
-------------------   
"Whew!" Henrique pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped at his brow, "Are you SURE we need all this in here?" he asked. 

Scylla looked hardly winded, although she was sweating a little, "Yes, we do!" she said decisively. 

He glanced up at the cieling, "I hope that works." 

She glanced up at it too, "Yeah. I do too." She laughed. 

"What's so funny?" 

"Just thought of the perfect guy who'd know all about contraptions," she murmured while admiring their handiwork,"I'd like to know what he'd think of that." 

"Are we done?" he asked. 

"Yes. Tired?" 

"Well, yeah." he had been amazed by her strength and endurance. She seemed to go on and on and on... 

She walked over to him, grabbed his arm, and tugged on it, "Come on! Let's grab a drink in my apartment upstairs." 

"Uhhh!" he hesitated. 

"I've got soda. Come ON! I'm not going to bite!" she insisted.   
---------------   
"What are we waiting out here for?" Tomas Complained. 

Julian made a face at him, "It's important." 

"What is it?" Gordo asked. 

Julian shrugged, "It's import- THERE!" he pointed. 

Scylla and Henrique were coming out. Scylla locked the door, then looped her arm around Henrique's as they walked the few steps to the stoop to her apartment. They went inside. 

"YES!!!" Julian hopped up and down, punching the air, "Way to GO!" 

"What happened?" Gordo complained. 

"Yeah. What happened?" Tomas added. 

"It's what's gonna happen, guys!" Julian rubbed his hands, "And it couldn't happen to a nicer gal! Let's go! Man, I hope Henrique's worth it!"   
--------------------   
"I have thought a long while about your proposal, Mr. Cornazon." Mr. Tanoji said, sitting back down in front of Cornazon. He had left to rest because of jet lag, and to think about the arrangement Cornazon had suggested, "And while I feel that it has considerable merit, I have concerns about your willingness to be involved. For instance," here, he smiled, "how could this Scylla woman be causing you so much trouble? If a woman," here, the note of distain in his voice came through,"causes you so much distress, then why don't you take care of the problem yourself?" 

Dinazo marvelled at his friend's self-control, noting the blood vessels bulging in his neck. The last few hired guns had been driven away by Cornazon's bursts of temper whenever they had discussed this very issue. _"Perhaps,"_ he thought, glancing at the two ninja-garbed assistants of Mr. Tanoji, who had noted the same thing and had changed their stances slightly in response, _"those sharp looking swords have something to do with it."_

"Now," Mr. Tanoji continued, noting that Cornazon had not volunteered a reply, "instead of me sending my men to dishonorably assassinate a woman while she is sleeping in her own bed, as you suggested, I propose that I and they accompany you tomorrow to assist you as you and your associates take care of her in broad daylight." 

Dinazo finally figured it out. Cornazon was not really a coward, but had become so accustomed to giving orders and being the power behind the scenes, that it stung his pride now to find himself being obligated to get involved, as well as being in an inferior bargaining position, "It's not time to go back to the jungle, boss," He whispered into his ear, "But it is time to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty again if we have to." 

Cornazon shot a glance at him, and Dinazo fancied he saw a look of fleeting gratitude. 

"You're right." he said, turning back to Mr. Tanoji, "I'll make the arrangements for weapons and transportation, and pick you and your men up tomorrow morning at 9." 

Mr. Tanoji brightened, rose, and bowed, "We will sign the contract at 11 tomorrow, and I will go back to Japan that afternoon with it." 

Cornazon rose and bowed in response, "Thank you." he said simply.   
----------------   
Von Richter glared irritably at his cell phone. The display was blinking, "MAMA'S OKAY!", and refused to make any calls. Apparently, Kayla had hacked through the cell network, got to the phone's microprocessor, and had reprogrammed it. 

_"Okay, so maybe I made a few too many calls."_ he conceded, putting it down and forcing himself to get back to work. 

For Von Richter, "Work" meant far more than looking at and approving requisitions, selecting between gene variants, and wondering whether they were serving too many green beans lately at the cafeteria. It also meant monitoring the world situation in thousands of places and trying to figure out if he had left out some important function of society that might need a Type or Cyber assigned to monitor, and if necessary, handle the situation. Some of the most bloody conflicts of the modern ear were not between the armies of nations, but were internal affairs arising from class, religious, or interracial warfare. Keeping a finger on the world pulse meant reading the world press. 

He initiated a web search for recent signs of unrest, then began to go through the list, making notes in a second window, when an article on a recent demonstration in a nearby country caught his eye. _"Too close for comfort."_ he thought, clicking on the reference, _"Let's see what it is."_   
  


PERU IN UPROAR   
OVER   
G. I. JUANITA! 

SAP: Thousands of Peruvian women protested in front of the Peruvian Military headquarters in Lima in oppositon to a planned Courts Martial of Private Carmelita Escuella for re-enacting, in real life, the movie events in "G.I Jane", an American movie starring Demi Moore as a woman who fought for and succeeded in gaining entry into an elite Special Forces unit. 

Unlike Ms. Moore's character, who had the support of politicians, Private Escuella had no one in her corner as her efforts to sign up for the newly formed Peruvian Condors was repeatedly rebuffed by superiors. With the support of friends in the military computer center who fabricated the necessary background records, she entered the program disguised as a man, Private Adrian Seidelman. 

She was able to keep her identity secret throughout the rigorous and grueling training, and was credited with suggesting many improvements and enhancements that were immediately incorporated not only in the Condor program, but also by the United States Navy Seals and Army Rangers, who had provided some of the instructors. Private Seidelman earned numerous awards and citations handed out during the training, and was highly praised by "his" commanding officers. 

In the meantime, Private Escuella was nowhere to be found and was branded AWOL (Absent WithOut Leave), starting a manhunt for her by military and civilian police throughout South America. 

No one knew of her deception until after the final awards and unit assignments were handed out, and she was promoted to a lieutenancy. Immediately after the ceremony, she dramatically threw away her glasses and pulled out a hair comb that had kept her hair up and out of her face. 

Embarrassed and angry military officials have attempted several courts martials, only to be stymied by legalities, investigations by civil rights government committees, and the recent demonstrations. Legal experts are still arguing over whether she was really AWOL if she was taking Condor training at a military base using a different name to get around the illegal behavior of her superior officers. 

For their part, although stunned by the realization that a woman had been in their unit, the men in the Condors and their immediate superior officers have uniformly fallen behind their comrade, "She's one of the best!" Private Juan Harmon insisted, "She was always there, encouraging everyone while making it tougher for herself and us!" 

Attempts to get a statement from Lieutenant Escuella have been unsuccessful. In addition to being confined to quarters, her military lawyer also stated that she wanted to be in private while grieving the tragic loss of her sister, who had committed suicide while she was in training. 

There were two pictures as part of the article, one of Private Seidelman, and one of Lieutenant Escuella. It took only one look from Von Richter to know who it was. The computer check was only a formality, for the artist always knows his work when he sees it. 

He grabbed his phone, only to be reminded by the display that he wouldn't be able to contact his wife about the situation. 

He glanced outside at the circle of senior year Cybers surrounding the residence. Great. Here he was, the theoretical head of a half legion of super soldiers, held prisoner in his own house because Quaren threatened to castrate the instructors and feed them their own severed body parts if anything happened to him while she was away! He felt a perverse sense of kinship with the last few Caesars who lived at the close of the Roman Empire, who probably had similar problems, in a way, with their own Praetoran Guards. 

_"Damn!"_ he thought as he glanced back at the computer monitor, _"If 356 was on a Peruvian military base qualifying for the Condors during this time, then who the hell is in Meridiana?"_   



	15. of Dark Branch

Paradise Falling... Chapter 15, Dark Branch "Well, last night was a bust." Grizelda griped as she, Maria, and Kayla waited for the Limo. She had brought out into the open what had been sitting like a vulture on the chandelier during breakfast. 

"Strange." Kayla shook her head, "56 was coming regularly every night, smooth as clockwork. So now we're here and she doesn't show." 

"Makes one wonder." Grizelda said suspiciously. 

"I locked out all of Meridiana from the family cellphones, and blocked calls to 37's house the moment Mama told me she was coming. No way 37 would know and warn her." Kayla said, "Although I don't know if he'd do that if he knew." 

Grizelda snorted, "If he knew, there'd be two dozen of Meridiana's finest circling this joint, shooting the birds out of the sky to make sure they wouldn't poop on mama." 

Maria rolled her eyes, thankful that Grizelda had held back most of her profanity during the trip. 

"By the way, nice costume" Grizelda commented, "Lot fancier than your black pajamas." 

Kayla smiled, "Jose was modelling some battle armor he was cooking up. I made some suggestions." 

"No armor on the arms other than those fancy ribbons?" 

"Yes. I need my arms free to get to and swing the katana." she said, demonstrating by reaching behind her back to grasp its hilt, "It's not armored, just a design." 

The limo pulled up. Kayla took off her katana and slid in front next to Quaren, while Grizelda helped Maria into the back and sat down next to her. 

"Are we ready?" Maria asked as she settled comfortably into the thickly padded leather seat. 

"Ready." Quaren said, slipping on what she hoped was a very cool looking pair of shades. Kayla and Grizelda followed suit as she started the Limo. 

_"We are one bad-ass group!"_ she thought as she pulled out of the Trodden mansion, _"We only need Six to make it perfect."_   
---------------------   
Scylla got up from her customary back booth at Don's Snack Shoppe and walked to the counter. 

"You ready?" Mr. Diortti asked her, grinning as he accepted her money. 

"Yes. Are you? Last chance to back out." she said. 

Mr. Diortti glanced upwards, "*I* want to see if that works!" 

Her eyes joined his, "I do too." she agreed. 

He rang up the sale and counted out her change, "When is Henrique coming?" 

She smiled as if she was a cat who had eaten a bird, "Oh, he's around." she said lightly, putting her change in her purse before passing it over the counter to him. He put it under the cash register. 

She went outside and leaned against her lamppost. She glanced up at the window to her apartment and smiled at the recollection of recent, pleasant memories.   
-------------------------   
"Excellent choice, Mr. Cornazon." Mr. Tanoji complimented Cornazon on the choice of limosine that was now bearing them to their appointment. 

Cornazon nodded and opened the small bar between the seats, "Would you like some Sake, Mr. Tanoji?" 

Mr. Tanoji's guards looked at each other, distain in their eyes after they both noted the two AK-27's lying on the floorboard between the two back seats that faced each other. Raoul was also in the back, while Dinazo drove. 

"Yes, I believe I would like some." Mr. Tanoji replied.   
--------------------------   
Kayla leaped easily from roof to roof along the street that her searches had turned up. She stopped and critically looked at each of the streetwalkers, shaking her head and moving on. Even though they weren't 356, their situation in life touched her and made her sad. It also made her more determined to recover 356 and return her home to the family and a new assignment, where she belonged. 

She got to the middle block, looked about, and smiled. A black haired woman in a simple and sensible white strapless sundress was leaning against a lamppost outside of Don's Snack Shoppe, looking as if she was waiting for a ride rather than soliciting customers as a member of one of the oldest professions in the world. It was certainly a sordid business, but at least she was showing some class while doing it. Looked in fine shape too. Kayla decided to stay put and not raise an alarm, despite her desire to see the cyber's face to make sure. 

"I think I see her," Kayla whispered into the short range radio. "Middle block, in front of Don's Snack Shoppe. I'm on the roof across the street from her, and she doesn't see me."   
--------------------------   
_"Hmmm."_ Gordo thought as he looked at the limosine that had stopped on a side street, _"I wonder if-"_ he walked closer, then backed away as the door opened. A woman got out. She had long white hair and looked very beautiful, even though she was obviously old. Gordo was struck by the green eyes that scanned the street and rested on him for a moment, a look of pity and sadness appearing fleetingly in them. He swallowed as the woman turned and walked toward the street that Scylla was on, the limo slowly following her to the corner, _"Not that one. Cornazon wouldn't have a nice lady like that in his big fancy car. I hope she doesn't get into trouble! She looks so nice and kind."_   
---------------   
Maria hesitated when she reached the corner. She knew which way to turn, but was starting to get butterflies in her stomach. 

The use of brute force to bring 356 back home was never an option, despite Quaren's words in Von Richter's office. Rather, her three daughters were there to prevent 356 from leaving before Maria could talk to her. Like Techno 54, they all believed that a "talk with Mama" would get through and bring the prodigal back home. For her part, Maria wished that she shared their confidence in the inevitablity of the outcome. 

When her husband had first broached the idea to her of growing genetically enhanced beings to support the transition of the planet to a peaceful, mutually supportive community, she naturally was behind him from the start. But the enormity of the task didn't strike her until she saw the first tottering steps of 500 young technos as they emerged from their tanks, the beginnings of the support staff and of a family that would exceed 10,000 members. Lord knows, they had tried, and failed, to have children of their own, but she knew, deep in her heart, that these were just as surely her children as any born of her womb. Biology dictated that humans should have one child at a time, at most two, with three or more just plain accidents that only technology and human society could support. 

In one instant, at the end of 6 months of anxious monitoring and sleepless nights, Technology bestowed 500 boy and girl geniuses on the Von Richters. Max, God bless him, could be their father and worldly guide, but these bewildered children needed a mother. Maria knew that it was her job, even if Max didn't mention it, to forge a family in the middle of the Amazon. 

Right from the start, Von Richter had known that programming was necessary to ensure that his creations would not turn on him or on mankind. Yet, to program "love" into them would have created a sham and a lie at the core of their creations from the start. Good behavior, yes. Determination, yes. Drive, yes. But love? Never. They would have to develop it on their own, and the Von Richters would have to work to earn that love, like anything and everyone else. 

So she had rolled up her sleeves, waded in, and loved them all as best she could. As the batches came out of the tanks, she wondered how she possibly could keep up, but somehow she did. It was as if the children knew that she was trying her best, and were responding to that. 

Oh, there were challenges. The normals who had to be transformed to save their lives were very difficult and took up a lot of time as they adjusted to their new state. She still didn't feel quite fully recovered from the loss of her granddaughter, Genesis. Grizelda proved to be the most difficult personal challenge, but she soon found herself showering the blue-skinned special with as much affection as any of the others. 

But the most difficult, and paradoxically the least challenging, were the Cybers. Max had sworn he had not programmed them to love, and she believed him, but they showed affection so easily and bestowed it so freely that one just had to wonder. At the core of their programming was courage and self-sacrifice: the willingness to get out there and fight and die for others. She had finally concluded that it was that willingness to take the risks that love requires that made them stand out. It was easier to love and care for a 100 cybers than 10 of any other model. Yet, it was so difficult looking into those adoring, onyx black eyes and wondering who would live and who would die on some far away battlefield. This was the true reason for the high level of toughness and rigor of their training: Those who sweat in peace rarely bleed in war. 

The Von Richters were not ones to stick their heads in the sand and ignore the obvious. One day, they would die and have to pass the task and the dream on to others. Von Richter had the luxury of having five or six likely candidates that would make excellent overall leaders, and Reba was the obvious choice for Chief Geneticist. But who would replace her, the one dedicated to forging and maintaining the bonds that made the army of peace a family as well? 

It took a while, but finally one showed herself to be worthy of the mantle, rising head and shoulders above her sisters. Who would have guessed that it would be the defiant, unrepentant little Cyber girl-child who had started a riot in the cafeteria by punching out three of her brothers who had called Grizelda names? That Cyber, who never apologized for that action, continued to weave in and out of the lives of the family, trailing behind her a rope of affection that she eventually jerked tight to pull everyone she touched together. 

One night, Maria and Von Richter had shared who they wanted to succeed them, and had a good laugh when they both came up with exactly the same individual as their first choice. 

Right now, Maria wished that that Cyber was here to retrieve her batchmate. 

Of course, if that Cyber had not chosen to murder herself, then this problem wouldn't have come up in the first place. 

Whatever it was that drove 356 to abandon her post and go on her own, Maria hoped that there was still some feelings of love and affection within that she could call upon to draw her back home. Quaren, Grizelda, and Kayla were just there to introduce delays so that Maria could have a chance to talk. Imprisoning her and returning her home would be unthinkable. They were counting on the power of love. 

For if love didn't really work in real life, then there would be no hope for this poor world, since all the other ways that could be used had already been tried by others, and had been found to be not worth calling upon at times like these. 

Resolutely, Maria turned and walked down the street, eyes scanning the women of the night, comparing each face against the profile of 356 that was burned into her memory.   
---------------   
"Why aren't we there yet?" Cornazon demanded of Dinazo over the intercom. 

"Getting close! We'll be four or five blocks up from the place after this next turn!" Dinazon replied. 

Raoul and Cornazon took the seats next to the window, picked up the AK-27s, and checked them out. Mr. Tanoji smiled indulgently and shot a glance of amusement at his guards, who looked up at the ceiling in mock despair. _"Amateurish, but effective,"_ he decided, _"Whatever works."_

The limosine made a slow, left turn. There was the sounds of safties being flicked off. Raoul looked across at Cornazon, "Like old times." he said 

"Yeah. I'd forgotten how it felt." Cornazon confessed, grinning.   
--------------   
Maureen frowned as the old lady walked on. It appeared as if she was looking for someone. This was NOT the day for business as usual. She glanced down the street at Scylla, and wondered how the woman could look so calm. She glanced back at Estella, who grimaced and faked fanning herself with her hand. 

The old lady caught sight of Scylla and walked purposefully toward her.   
-----------   
_"There she is!"_ Maria thought, heart thumping. _"Here goes nothing! At least she doesn't LOOK like a hooker, thank goodness!"_

She got within two meters of the girl when the sound of her footsteps made her turn her head. The onyx black eyes widened as the girl realized who was walking up to her. 

_"Please don't run, 3-"_ Maria started to think, when suddenly, she realized that the face didn't match the description or the photos. There were small, subtle differences that were within the variances set for members of a batch set. From long years of experience, Maria began mentally subtracting, adding, and adjusting features like eye set, nose length and width, length and shape of the neck, set and size of the chin and cheeks, iris size, and a half dozen other factors, half wondering if a mistake had been made and they'd encountered a wild normal. Yet, the girl's reaction meant that she, Maria, was no stranger to her. 

"Mama!" The girl said, fear and terror in her voice. 

Maria was the only woman on the planet who knew for a fact that those two syllables could be pronounced in 10,000 unique and different ways, and could recognize each and every one of them. 

Shaking and incredulous, Maria walked up to the woman, put out her hand, and caressed her cyber's cheek gently. 

"It's time to come home, Cybersix." She murmured, her vision blurring from the tears welling in her eyes.   
----------------   
_"Cybersix?"_ Kayla could barely hear the words, _"Did mama just call her CYBERSIX? But she's dead! Is mama losing it?"_ she got ready to leap down if necessary.   
----------------   
Julian was beginning to feel a bit dizzy, looking around in all directions, trying to identify a car that MIGHT contain Cornazon and blazing death for the woman he'd come to regard with more affection than he was willing to admit. _"I sure hope she knows what she's-"_

His instincts screamed danger the moment his eyes rested on the stretched limosine that was coming up the street. He turned, ran into the middle of the intersection, put his fingers to his mouth, and cut loose with the loudest, longest whistle he could manage.   
---------------   
"Please! You must get out of here! It's-" Cybersix started, only to jerk her head at the whistle. She caught sight of the limo also, and her instincts agreed with Julian's, especially when her sharper and keener vision noted that the car window on her side of the street was coming down, and two black tubes were sticking out of it a few centimeters. She turned and whistled loudly also. 

"EVERYONE!" Mr. Diortti's voice boomed out in the snack shoppe, "Please get down under your tables and stay here! GET DOWN NOW!" 

Maureen, Estella, and the other prostitutes on the street began grabbing passersby and forcing them into nearby stores.   
---------------   
"Uh oh! Something's going down!" Grizelda's voice came out from the back, even though nobody could be seen there. 

"Gotcha!" Quaren started the engine, pulled out and around the corner, and caught sight of Maria standing next to a girl that sure looked like a cyber to her.   
--------------   
Kalya went on full alert, glancing around, trying to figure out from what direction the danger the cyber was clearly worried about was coming from.   
-------------   
"Cybersix, why-" Maria started, then stopped. There would be time later for "Why". Right now, she had to make sure there would be time later. "No, forget that. Please, just come home with me! We've all missed you terribly!" 

Cybersix struggled for a moment, then deliberatlely and calmly forced herself to lean back on the lamppost and said nonchalantly, "What? Are you AC-DC? 500, take it or leave it." 

"What?? What are you-" Maria was confused, then suddenly realized that Cybersix was acting as if she was a prospective customer! 

_"Must wait. Must wait. Can't let everyone down! Must wait!"_ Cybersix thought to herself.   
--------------   
"There she is! Gotta be, right in front of a snack shoppe, lookin' like a girl waitin' for a ride!" Dinazon said excitedly, "Just like they all said! Damn, they were right!" 

"Pull up right next to the bitch! Even if she ducks into the store, we'll shoot through the windows!" Cornazon ordered. 

Mr. Tanoji nodded and leaned back smiling. _"Yes, he'll do nicely to get things started, before we move our own people in here."_ he thought.   
---------------   
The moment Cybersix heard the sound of the tires on the pavement, she moved. She grabbed Maria around the middle, lifted her, and ran into the shop. 

"NOW!" She shouted, leaping upwards and rightwards, spinning around, just as the two AK's in the car opened up, shattering the pane glass. She came down hard on the wooden floor on the other side of the bar, cushioning her mother with her own body.   
---------------   
"DAMN!" Kayla reached behind, pulled out her katana, and leaped down to the street.   
---------------   
At the sound of the AK's, Henrique awoke and rolled off the bed in Cybersix's upstairs apartment onto the floor. He fumbled around for his pants, found them, and dug his cell phone out, "This is a code four! Repeat, Code four at Don's Snack Shoppe! Send assistance and ambulances!" he shouted at the dispatcher, "Code Four at Don's Snack Shoppe!"   
---------------   
"HEY! THEY'RE SHOOTIN' AT MAMA!" Grizelda shouted with an indignant squawk, only to be thrown backwards into her seat as Quaren stomped on the gas pedal.   
---------------   
One of the ninjas saw Kayla land on the pavement. He reached over and tapped the knee of his partner and pointed. The other nodded and reached for the door handle to let them both out.   
---------------   
Mr. Diortti yanked hard on the rope, which undid the knot, which kept the two large sheets of plate steel suspended by one end from the cieling. They swung down and went through what was left of the picture window, catching and deflecting the bullets. The sheets of plate steel that Cybersix and Henrique had forced between the booth seats protected the diners crouching under the tables. Mr. Diortti had put up the tables and chairs in the middle of the shoppe, so there was no one in the space between the booths and the bar. The thick hard wood of the bar was sufficient to stop the bullets by itself, but they had removed an inner layer of wood and replaced it with panels of plate steel just to be sure. It had been long, hard work, but they all were glad they'd put forth the effort now. 

"Ooooff!" Cybersix moaned, rolling and sliding Maria off of her, "Where is it?" 

Mrs. Diortti quietly handed her the assault rifle Henrique had liberated from the heavy riot gear room. She took it, pulled the bolt, flipped the safety off, then got into a crouch. 

"NO! Don't go!" Maria grabbed at her wrist. 

Cybersix smiled dourly, pulled her wrist away, bent forward, and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, "I love you, Mama." she said softly, before she jump-flipped over the bar and into the storm.   
---------------   
Well, look who's pretending to be a warrior!>> one of the ninjas chuckled as they both drew their swords. 

Dishonorable dogs, pitting two against one!>> Kayla replied in flawless Nipponese, whipping her katana through an elaborate warmup as she approached. 

They quickly threw glances at each other, then both leaped at her, their Katanas upraised. 

With a whirl, Kayla struck one, then the other, making the blades sing as she weaved between them, _"These guys are good. Better not hold back."_ she thought.   
---------------   
"You're her mother?" Mrs. Diortti yelled over the gunfire. 

"Yes!" Maria tried to rise, but Mr. Diortti forced her down. 

"Wonderful girl you have!" He yelled, "Good girl in a bad business! We tried to get her out of it, but she's stubborn too!" 

"Thanks!" Maria yelled back, too worried about Cybersix to wonder about the feelings those words stirred up in her.   
---------------   
"DAMN! Can't shoot around those damn swinging-" Cornazon started. 

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" screamed Dinazo. He had been facinated by the sight of the exploding plate glass and the splintering of the building stones by the bullets that he didn't notice what was happening right in front of him until he heard the roar of an engine approaching. Cornazon jerked his head forward just in time to see a black limosine driven by a furious looking blonde teenager apparently intent on plowing it into his rented limo.   
---------------   
Quite safe once the plates had come down, Cybersix patiently waited for the plates to swing aside. Catching sight of Cornazon in the limo through the gap, she pulled the trigger immediately, sending a short burst of bullets through the momentary gap right at his head.   
---------------   
The two ninjas spun and attacked again. Again, Kayla's quick blows deflected the flashing blades and made their hands sting. She darted around to one side and began to fiercely attack one of them, weaving to keep him between herself and his partner.   
---------------   
The impact of Von Richter's limosine on Cornazon's shoved the larger car two meters backwards. Dinazo had braced himself for the collision, shoving his back up straight against his seat. 

Cornazon fell forward, the seat jerking out from under him, making his head drop into Raoul's lap. 

Raoul had been sitting in the rear facing seat. The movement of the limo shoved the seat into his back, snapping his head backwards and against the headrest. Thus, when Cybersix's bullets went through the window where Cornazon used to be, the movement of the limosine caused by the impact carried him through the deadly stream. He took two in the head. Dinazo was equally unfortunate, for the stream continued and went through his head also. 

Mr. Tanoji, who had been sitting next to Cornazon, also fell forward as his seat left him behind. He had been sitting across from the electronics center. However, being older, his neck couldn't stand the impact against the miniature Sony TV that moved into his forehead. He was left with a broken neck, paralyzed and unable to breathe.   
---------------   
Quaren kicked the door open, "Find out what's happened to Mama!" she shouted to Grizelda as she leaped out to assist Kayla. 

_"Oh Crap!" _Grizelda thought as she kicked the door on her side open, _"Daddy's gonna be real pissed about this!"_   
---------------   
Cybersix blinked, _"What happened?"_ she thought when she saw the open car window through which they had been shooting appear through the open door of the shoppe. She ran toward the door and ducked behind the stone pillar between it and the large picture window, feeling quite exposed. 

She had counted on them pulling up next to the lamppost and start shooting at her, which dictated the positioning of the steel plates. The thugs had behaved exactly as expected, and the plates had worked to perfection. However, the new position of the limo allowed them to shoot through the door into the shoppe. 

She glanced behind her at the bar to make sure the Diorttis and Mama were staying behind it.   
---------------   
Raoul sagged down, pinching Cornazon's head between his belly and lap. "Get OFF me!" Cornazon yelled as he struggled to push Raoul off of him, cursing.   
---------------   
"DAMN BITCH!" Henrique cursed as he fumbled through Cybersix's apartment, "She hid my gun SOMEPLACE in here!"   
---------------   
The ninja trying to get around his partner to add his blade to the battle stopped and threw a glance at the two limos at the sound of the impact. His partner leaped backwards to buy time for a look also. Thinking it safe, Kayla flung a glance at the two vehicles just in time to note the further destruction of the Von Richter limo as Quaren grabbed the door and yanked it off it's hinges. 

"HEY PAJAMA BOYS!" She yelled, throwing the door like a frisbee at them. One flipped into the air, the spinning door barely whipping by his spinning body and wrapping itself around a lamp post, while the other dove to the side and ran to Cornazon's vehicle to check the man he was responsible for. The jumper came down and started parrying the blows Kayla began to deliver.   
----------------   
Cornazon finally got Raoul off of him, and was about to demand what was happening when he saw the two bulletholes in the side of Raoul's head. He sat, momentarily stunned at the loss of a childhood friend, before being consumed with a blaze of anger that swept what common sense he had left away.   
----------------   
Cybersix heard Quaren's shout and Kayla's katana, _"Great, if Quaren's here, she's in charge. She'd pick Kayla and Grizelda, which means..."_

She barely heard the light taps of approaching steps, "Grizelda! Get OUT of the line of fire!" she hissed under her breath. 

"CYBERSIX!!!???" Grizelda recognized the voice of her favorite Cyber immediately. 

Cybersix groaned. She waited half a second more, then stepped out into the open, fanned air with her left hand, felt the collar of Grizelda's uniform, grabbed a handful of it, jerked her sister off her feet, and flung her into the shoppe behind her.   
-----------------   
"YAAAAAAAHHHHH!" The furious Ninja turned on Quaren as the culprit responsible for the blue death of his charge. He ran at Quaren, swinging his katana viciously. Quaren bobbed and weaved about, the tip of the katana sometimes mere millimeters from her skin, and occasionally nicking her top.   
-----------------   
Cornazon heard Grizelda's cry. Grabbing his AK, he popped up and began firing, sweeping the gun down. 

Cybersix heard his gun and saw him at the same time. She pulled the trigger of her own gun.   
----------------   
You are barely passable.>> Kayla taunted her foe as they locked blades over their heads, literally looking at each other eye to eye.. 

AAAHHH! I shall not be beaten by a woman!>> the ninja cursed, leaped backward, then charged, screaming at the top of his voice. 

She stepped lightly aside, knocking his blade away. As the ninja ran past, she brought her katana back around and sliced at his back, neatly dividing him in half. Both pieces fell to the street. 

The last bursts of gunfire made her head snap around to the snack shoppe door.   
-----------------   
"Hey! This ain't fair!" Quaren taunted her panting opponent. 

His eyes crinkled, as if he was smiling. Suddenly, he brought out a throwing star and threw it at her. 

Quaren dodged it, reached out, and grabbed it in mid-air, the spinning spikes slicing the webbing of her hand between thumb and forefinger, "Gee thanks!" she said, holding it up to show it to her astonished opponent, "Is THIS how you use it?" she asked, flinging it toward him. 

It went through the ninja's throat and spinal column before burying itself three fourths of it's diameter into a telephone pole about 200 meters away. 

Quaren didn't have time to say "Ewww!", for the last bursts of gunfire drew her attention elsewhere.   
-----------------   
_"Now why the HELL did Six do that any-"_ Grizelda started to think irritably as she disentangled herself from the stacks of chairs at the back of the room when the last bursts of gunfire gave her a sudden chill. Frantically, she scrambled out of the pile and ran to the door. 

Cybersix was swaying, the gun having dropped out of her hands. Grizelda glanced at the limo and saw the bullet-riddled head of Cornazon leaning back in the seat. Glancing back at Cybersix, she gasped at the two bullet wounds in her right shoulder and lower left side. 

"Mama. Okay?" Cybersix asked in a whisper, sagging to her knees and touching the bleeding hole in her shoulder, _"Just great!"_ she thought a bit woozily, _"Now I've got a matching set!"_ She set her back against the booths to support herself, winced, and reached down to feel the wound in her side, _"Wonderful. Went just under the floating ribs, which means..."_

Grizelda looked wildly about, but couldn't see Maria. 

"Everyone okay?" Mr. Diortti asked. 

"I'm fine!" Maria said, rising, "What about my daughter!?" 

Quaren banged against the doorjamb to stop herself. She took one look at Cybersix and gasped, "Oh god, no! Six??" 

"Hiya." Cybersix said, smiling weakly. 

Kayla arrived two seconds later, "Ahh! It IS Six!" she gasped. Both women fell on their knees beside their wounded sister. 

"Quick-" Cybersix gasped, "Get-away." 

The sounds of distant sirens filled the air. 

"We're not leaving you!" Quaren insisted. 

"Get-mama-away." Cybersix repeated, "Must-not-have-questions."D_amn, hurts like hell in my side. I wonder..."_ she thought. 

"She's right!" Kayla whispered, "They'll detain us and ask questions!" 

Biting her lower lip, Quaren glanced up at an ashen faced Maria, "Get Mama out of here!" she ordered. 

"Six! No!!" Maria cried as Grizelda and Kayla rushed her out the door. 

Quaren grabbed Cybersix's jaw with one hand and forced her to look into her eyes, "Live, damn you! Or I'll-I'll-" 

"You'll-what?" Cybersix smiled wanly, face pale, her lips losing the red lustre they usually had. 

"Aaahhh!" Quaren groused. She turned and dashed out of the shoppe. Running to the rear of Von Richter's limo, she grabbed the fender, lifted it up, and dragged it up the street in a half trot, ignoring the terrible burning in her heart that demanded that she return to her sister's side.   



	16. of Dark Branch

Paradise Falling... Chapter 16, Dark Branch "Mphf! What-" Cyber 5000 groaned at the insistent ringing of her phone, "Ahh crap!" she muttered as she rolled over and grabbed at the phone, only to knock the receiver off the hook and onto the floor. She fell out of bed and scrambled for it. "WHAT!???" she almost shouted into it when she found it. 

"Reba! It's me, Quaren!" 

"Quaren! I'm on night shift and need- " 

"We've got a problem!" Quaren interrupted. 

"What is it? 

"I'm in Meridiana with mama, trying to recover 356, except it wasn't her, but Six herself! There was a shooting-" 

"Go on!" Reba said, then suddenly got a chill, "Mama's here too? Quaren, if you're calling because you screwed up..." 

"Mama's okay, but Six got hit!" 

"Where?" 

"Shoulder and left side." 

"Oh no!" she gasped, "When did this happen?" 

"Four-five hours ago! We've been calling the hospitals, trying to find out where they took her, but since Cornazon was involved, everyone's imposed a news blackout. We just found out that she was taken to Meridiana General! Can you-" 

"I'm on my way!" 

She frantically went through her drawers and pulled some clothes on, cursing Cybersix's bad luck, since it was Dr. Bordias who was on the day shift at the emergency room. 

She didn't want to think about what By The Book Bordias would do to her sister.   
-----------------------   
When she got to the hospital, it was being besieged by the news media trying to find out about the hooker who had stood up to and killed the great Cornazon. They initially charged at her, but a yelled, "Dammit! Lemmie through!" brought immediate results in the form of two policemen shoving the reporters aside to escort her through the police barricades. Once inside, she made a beeline for the Emergency room. 

She arrived not a moment too soon. Dr. Bordias was sweating bullets looking through the latest test results, dithering and wondering why the hell his patient was not recovering like she was supposed to! "She's running an impossible fever!" he said frantically to her as she glanced through the test results and the charts, "I gave her O-negative blood! It must have been misclassified, but we can't find microclots in her blood!" 

"You took out the spleen?" she asked, a feeling of dread growing in her as she scanned the surgery report. 

"Standard procedure! The bullet went through it, causing massive internal bleeding. I had the sutures double checked by Dr. Josias, so I know the major vessels are sealed off." 

"Yeah. Standard procedure." she nodded morosely, "Perhaps she's allergic to the anesthetic?" she said, glancing at the Anesthetist's report and wondering what was causing the high fever so soon after losing the spleen. The anesthetic was a recently developed one with few side-effects, but obviously only for humans. 

"You think so?" he got pale too, realizing that that might be a contributing factor, "That's rare, but her blood workup is quite unusual-" his voice trailed off. 

_"You betcha it's unusual!"_ she thought, "Can I take a look at her?" she asked. 

"Yes! Yes!" 

Reba's heart sank the moment she saw Cybersix lying on the bed, skin as pale as the sheets, sweat pouring from every pore, the strands of her hair plastered to her forehead and cheeks. She walked up and gently put the back of her hand against the wet, hot skin, "She's in bad shape," she said finally, "I'd like to take the case over, if you don't mind." 

He didn't mind. In fact, he couldn't sign the patient over fast enough, as well as letting the press and hospital administration know who was in charge of this high-profile patient. 

The moment he signed, Reba turned to the nurses, "I want her taken out of 114 immediately and put in 230." 

They looked at each other, "Are you sure?" the senior nurse asked, "There's no monitoring equipment there." 

"Yes, I'm sure." she said firmly, turning and walking to the pharmacy. 

Once inside, she gazed up at the shelves of bottles and boxes, struggling with the knowledge that she knew she had to pass on. She pulled her cellphone out and hit the "call-back" button. 

"Reba?" Quaren answered on the first ring. 

"Yes, It's me." 

"Is she really there?" 

"Yeah. Better get everyone over here quick. Too bad Father can't-" 

"He just got here an hour ago!" 

"He is?" She asked hopefully, almost not believing. 

"Yes." 

"I need to talk to him!" 

She could make out the excited voices on the other end of the line as Quaren passed on the news. 

"Reba?" Von Richter's voice came over the phone, "How is she? 

"They removed the spleen. It was hit by a bullet and was causing massive internal bleeding." 

He was silent for a moment, absorbing this bit of bad news, "I see. Well, there still may be time to get her to the compound and come up with something, even if it's only temporary." 

"One other problem. She's running a terribly high fever, and there's no explanation for it." 

"Really? How bad is it?" 

"Slightly elevated when they got her on the table, but climbing quickly to about 109 and staying there." 

"109? And she's still alive?" Despite having designed them, his creations continued to astound him at times. 

"Amazing, isn't it? They've shot her full of Tylenol, but its not working. They also gave her a new anesthetic and about three units of O negative blood because of the operation. Do you think that's causing it?" 

"Hmm. I'm not sure." There was silence as he thought, "Try getting Techno 1954. He might have an idea." 

"I'll get him. In the meantime, better get over here as quick as you can." She said. 

"We will. See you soon." 

Techno 1954 was the head and sole employee of the "Advanced Concepts Division", placed there by Von Richter himself to ensure that less imaginative divison heads didn't squelch any of his "wildass ideas". Reba punched in his number. 

"Hello?" 

"Hi 54. This is Cyber 5K." 

"Reba! How are you doing?" He asked brightly. 

"Sorry, but no time for chitchat. I've got a cyber here in Meridiana with a high fever after the spleen was removed." 

"Umm, not good. How high is it?"   
-----------   
"Hello!" Henrique flashed his wallet badge to the nurse at the station, "Detective Henrique. I'm checking on Miss Charybdis." 

"She's just been moved to room 230 per Dr. Pearce's orders." the nurse replied. 

"Dr. Reba Pearce? I thought-" 

"She's taken the case on, which is good news for that poor woman." 

"What's wrong?" 

"The surgery went fine, but she has developed an impossibly high fever." the nurse noticed Henrique's pained look and felt sorry for him, "Dr. Pearce is the best doctor in the hospital. If she-" 

"CRAP!" 

"HEY! WATCH IT!" 

Their heads jerked around. Reba had kicked the pharmacy door open hard enough to force the stop into the wall, as well an punching a hole in it with the doorknob. She scrambled while turning, then ran up the corridor, dodging and weaving around the hospital staff, patients, and carts in her way. The pharmacist on duty stepped out, shaking her head as she inspected the damage. 

"Uh oh." The nurse muttered, grimacing. 

Henrique ran after her.   
-----------   
Reba dashed into the doctor's lounge and nearly tore the door off of her locker. She searched through the contents and found two cylinders wrapped in electrical tape, which joined the hypo in her pocket. She slammed her locker shut and left as quickly as she came. 

Scorning the elevator, she ran into the stairwell and bounded up to the second floor in two leaps. She then headed for Room 230. 

Cybersix had just been wheeled in when Reba arrived. The nurses tucking her in took the scowl she threw at them as a hint to leave, and promptly did so. Quickly, she opened a vial of sustenance, sucked the contents into the hypo, and jabbed her sister's arm with it, injecting the stuff directly into the vein. 

"C'mon Six! C'mon!" Reba felt close to tears, stroking the cyber's wet cheeks frantically and pushing the limp black hair aside, "Please don't leave me! Not now! C'mon!" 

Of all her sisters and brothers, Cybersix knew. She knew what it was like to have programming you couldn't obey through no fault of your own. They had talked too many times together, wept on each other's shoulders too much, encouraged each other for too many hours on end, argued about ethics into the wee hours of too many mornings, to just part like this, without a word. Not like this! Not this way! So close. Oh so very close... 

Cybersix's eyes fluttered, "Wha-" she started, "So cold!" 

"Whew!" Reba was wildly relieved. 

"5000?" Cybersix recognized her, "Where-" 

"Meridiana General. I'm your doctor now." 

"Oh. How nice." Her half smile caused a flood of memories to surge through Reba's mind that she didn't need right now, "How bad am I?" 

"Shoulder wound. Also, you took a bullet through the spleen." 

Cybersix grimaced, "They had to-remove it?" 

Reba nodded. 

She sighed, "How long have I got?" 

"About an hour. Maybe less." 

"An hour?" Cybersix tried to sit up, but winced at the staples in her side and flopped back down on the bed, wincing again, "But-but sustenance waste poisoning takes two weeks to be fatal! Have I been out that long?" 

Reba was about to answer when there was a knock at the door. Making a face, she went to open it and glanced up at the huge man, "What is it? I'm busy!" 

"Detective Henrique, Dr. Pearce. Is Miss Charybdis in this room?" 

"Yes. So?" She replied suspiciously, ready to throw him down the hall. 

"He's okay!" Cybersix called out weakly, "We worked together. We're-" she smiled, "friends." 

"Sorry," Reba apologized, opening the door wider and letting Henrique in. She glanced at Cybersix, who nodded and winked. Half smiling despite herself, Reba left to talk to the police about letting the Von Richters through the barricades. 

Henrique walked up and took her hand in his, "I ought to arrest you." 

"For what?" she asked softly, a bemused look on her face. 

"Stealing police property, namely my gun." 

"They had AK's. Your popgun wouldn't have worked." 

"I'd gotten TWO automatics from the weapons locker." 

She shrugged slighly, wincing at the pain in her right shoulder, "You," she replied, "are too big of a target. Look what they did to me." 

Henrique frowned, "You feel awfully hot." he said, feeling her forehead and wiping the sweat from it. 

"I'm freezing to death. I must be wearing one of those ridiculously thin hospital gowns with no back I keep reading about." 

He grinned, "I'd be glad to check for you." 

"And make me colder than I am now?" 

He laughed. She started to laugh too, but the staples made her settle for a smile instead, "So, how is everybody?" she asked. 

He sighed, "The Diorttis are fine, as were the customers. Everyone's worried about you, especially Julian, Tomas, and Gordo." 

She sighed, "I hope I can arrange something for those boys." 

He frowned, "Hey, what kind of talk is that? They only took out the spleen. You sound as if-" He stopped. 

"Yeah." she replied morosely, "Well, I'm-kinda different." 

"I noticed." he said quietly, "So, how long?" 

She glanced off to the side for a moment, then turned her eyes back to his, "Less than an hour. Don't know why, but I trust the source." She glanced down at his hand engulfing hers and squeezed his thumb, "Hey, thanks for last night." she said, smiling, "I enjoyed it. Did you?" 

He smiled, "I'll never forget you." he said, leaning forward. 

She winced while reaching her right arm around and put it on his chest to stop him, "Promise me." 

"What?" 

"That you'll be happy. That you won't let me get in the way of you finding someone special, okay?" 

He shrugged, "That's a tall order." 

She frowned, "Why?" 

"Because to me, you redefined special." 

Of course she had to let him kiss her.   
-----------------   
"They're here!" "Who's that?" "Open a path up!" "Out of the way!" "Dammit! Get some photos!" 

Quaren and Kayla glared as they helped the police push a path through the crowd to let Von Richter, Maria, Jose, and Elaine through to the Hospital entrance. 

Cyber 5000 was waiting for them just outside the door, fighting to keep a straight face when she saw her parents, "Hello, I'm Dr. Reba Pearce! I'm your daughter's doctor." she said in a businesslike tone as she stepped forward to shake Von Richter's hand. 

"I've heard of you!" Von Richter replied, playing up to the cameras and microphones around them, "My daughter couldn't be in better hands." 

"Thank you. If you'll come this-" 

"DR. PEARCE!" A reporter yelled, "What's Miss Charybdis' condition like?" 

Reba paused, "I want to tell her parents first, please." she said, turning and ignoring the other shouted questions. 

She led them to the elevator. She pushed the button for the second floor, but as soon as it began to move, she opened a box and turned a key to halt the elevator. 

"How bad is she?" Von Richter asked. 

"I can tell you now, or we can go on and let Six hear it too." she stated, adding, "But every minute counts." 

"Let's tell her then." he replied without hesitation. 

Reba turned the key and the elevator rose to the second floor. When they got to room 230, Reba paused, knocked lightly, waited a few seconds, then opened the door. 

Henrique had turned to throw a glance at them. He then turned back to Cybersix, bent over, and kissed her gently. 

"You promised." she reminded him in a weak voice, blinking her eyes. 

"I'll try." he replied. He let go of her hand, nodded at the family, and withdrew from the room. 

Everyone looked at her from across the room, almost unbelieving. Then Jose ran up to her, "Cybersix!" he laughed nervously, "You sure fooled the training board!" 

"That's nice to know." she said, smiling wanly. She rolled her hand palm upwards and twitched her fingers, so Jose slipped his hand into hers. 

"Ya sure did, girl!" With a nervous laugh and a cackle of electricity, Grizelda appeared. 

"Glad you could make it." Cybersix said with a smile. 

"You're so hot!" Jose said, alarmed. 

"I know." she replied. Her eyes slid to Reba, "What's going on?" 

Reba sighed, "The bullet wound in your side went through your spleen. Per standard ER procedures, the spleen was removed and the blood vessels tied off to prevent massive internal bleeding. Not a problem in Normals, but in a sustenance-based being like us, the spleen was augmented to remove sustenance fragments that are produced when sustenance is cracked in our muscles." 

"I feel so weak and I'm having problems feeling my feet and being able to see." Cybersix complained, "That's supposed to happen after about two weeks without a spleen, not within a day." 

"True, except they gave you three units of O negative blood, not A positive." Reba said, "O negative blood cells have a protein projection that A positive doesn't have, and which activates the sustenance fission reaction. Your high temperature is not coming from your body because it's fighting off an infection or rejecting the blood transfusion, but from an uncontrolled sustenance burn. I barely caught you before you ran dry." 

"Ouch." Kayla said in sympathy. Being barbecued from the inside didn't appeal to her. 

Von Richter nodded sadly, "Well, that accounts for the rapid accumulation of sustenance poisons." 

Cyber 5000 looked stricken with regret, "I-I didn't help things by injecting you with sustenance. Yeah, it brought you back, but the poisons from a vial's worth is enough to..." she stopped and glanced around at her family. Quaren went over to her, put her arm around her shoulders, and gave her a hug. 

"You did the right thing." Cybersix said, her voice soft and quiet, "I can now say goodbye to everyone here." 

"It's all that normal's fault! STUPID DOCTOR!" Jose raged. 

"No! No!" Cybersix protested weakly, struggling to put her other hand on Jose's so she could clasp it between both of hers, "He. They. didn't know, Jose. They wanted to do the right thing, but couldn't because they didn't know. I fainted while in the ambulance, so I couldn't tell them. Jose! Jose!" 

The boy looked at her, lower lip trembling. 

"I know you don't have my programming. I can choose to love or ignore the normals, but I can't hate them. You can hate them if you choose, but don't. Please, don't. That would hurt you more than them, and I don't want that. Okay?" 

He didn't say anything. 

"Please, For me?" 

"Only for you." he said, pulling his hand away and running into Maria's arms. She lifted him up and went to the far corner of the room. 

"Dammit! I TOLD you to be careful!" Quaren groused, coming over and grabbing Cybersix's hand in hers, frowning at the feel of it. 

"Ya can't touch me." Cybersix grinned bravely, "You'd pop my staples. Besides, YOU screwed me up. His car was right where I wanted it until YOU moved it!" 

She made a face, "The bastards were shootin' at mama! What the hell did you expect me to do?" 

Cybersix barely nodded and matched Quaren's look of chagrin, "Just what you did. You in trouble?" 

"She sure is!" Von Richter said sternly, "I'll think of something suitable after I get over this!" 

Cybersix smiled, "G'bye Seven. Watch over mama and Father for me, okay?" 

Quaren was making faces in an effort not to shed any tears, "Bye Six. If there IS a world on the other side of death, say hi to 29 and give the bad guys hell for us, okay?" 

"I will." 

Quaren bent over to kiss Cybersix's cheek, letting out a quiet sob and leaving a few tears the moment her lips touched the hot, sweaty skin. She turned and retreated to the same corner were Mama and Jose were. 

Grizelda wasn't trying to hide the streams coursing down her face. She had moved in while Quaren had been talking and was wringing Cybesix's hand with both of hers, "Shit. *I* screwed you up, running into a firezone without checking the enemy! I was so worried about Mama, and then when I heard your voice-" she closed her eyes, "I wish you hadn't-" 

"I HAD to get you out of the way, sister." 

"Always lookin' out for me, aren't you?" she laughed nervously, "Damn, I'm going to miss you!" She said, bending over to kiss her sister's cheek, sobbing and drenching it when she did. Cybersix could only grimace, feeling bad that she felt too weak to even move her arm to embrace her sister. 

Elaine moved in and rubbed Grizelda between her shoulder blades. She glanced up, wiped at her face, smiled sheepishly, and retreated to behind Von Richter's chair. 

"Damn you." Elaine said, wiping at her face, "You faking your death made father haul my ass from Yellowstone to chasing after Amato and you on the housetops in this smelly city!" 

"Thanks." 

"Whatever for?" 

"That rescue job." 

"That?" Elaine laughed nervously, "You were the obvious choice, although Ryan later told me that it was too good of an operation to have been done by 356, who, by the way, was in the jungles of Peru qualifying for the Condors." 

"I knew about that. She told me how she was planning to do it." Cybersix said, "Did she make it?" 

"Sure did!" 

Cybersix grinned, blinking her eyes, "Dressed as a guy, right?". 

"As Adrian Seidelman." Von Richter put in. 

"What? Damn bitch!" she said with uncharacteristic anger, "That was the alias 29 developed in the Undercover Ops course, and he left all his stuff to me, including that! I TOLD her not to steal it!" 

"*I*'ll bust her ass for you!" Quaren volunteered. 

"Please!" Cybersix turned to Elaine, "That rescue was very-satisfying." she said, "Unfulfilled programming is sheer hell." 

"Damn right." Cyber 5000 muttered as she was checking Cybersix's pulse, frowning. 

"Glad it helped." Elaine said, touched. 

"So how'd you do with Amato?" Cybersix asked, changing the subject. 

"Dumb as a brick!" she grimaced, "He's no threat." 

"Nice to know I was right." Cybersix nodded, "Hey, ya notice the hunk that walked out?" 

"Umm Hmm yes!" Elaine leaned in closer, "Someone you know?" 

"Very intimately!" Here, the two giggled like schoolgirls, "Yesss! Plainclothes policeman. Real sharp. Help him forget me, okay?" Cybersix said, "That is, if you're interested." 

Elaine looked doubtful, "Now how am I-" she started. 

"Tell him I asked you to find a place to care of the boys. He'll know who you're talking about." Cybersix added. 

Elaine grinned wickedly and winked, "Just needed an opening! Thanks sis! Always thinking about your old students, aren't you?" 

"Can't help it. Programming." she replied, looking bemused when Elaine planted a kiss on her cheek that brushed the corner of her mouth. 

Kayla was standing on the other side. She rolled her eyes, fanned her face with her hand, and pretended to breathe heavily. 

"What?" Cybersix asked, trying to look mildly peeved while blinking her eyes hard. 

Cyber 5000 dropped her wrist, lifted the covers, and began to pinch her calf, "Can you feel this?" she asked, pinching Cybersix's calf hard. 

"No." 

"This?" she pinched her sister's thigh. 

"No." 

"And here?" she asked, pinching the side opposite of her wound. 

"No." 

She glanced at Kayla, then at her parents, shaking her head slightly. 

"Not much time, it seems." Kayla said regretfully, "Just tell me this. Why my katana, and how the hell did you fake all the blood?" she asked, eyes filling. 

"I couldn't get. A cleaver from. The kitchen. Since it. Was always. Occupied." Cybersix struggled to speak, "Rub. Left shoulder hard." Kayla did so, and rubbed the makeup off that covered a red scar that ran for two inches along the top of the collarbone. 

Kayla tisked, "Messy job." 

"Hurt. Like it. Too." She made a face, "Had to use. To make people. Think I. Was serious. Sorry. Forgive. Me?" 

Kayla bent down and kissed her sister on the cheek, touching it and letting a tear run onto the skin from her eyelashes, "Always and forever. I love you." 

"Love you. Too. Watch. Juno. Okay?" 

Kayla threw a glance at the boy, who had finally let go of Maria, "Sure Sierra. Golf and I were doing it already anyhow. Goodbye." 

"Goodbye. Reba?" 

"Yes?" she leaned over to look into Cybersix's eyes. 

"'Nother. Vial." Cybersix requested, gazing into her eyes pleadingly. 

"It'll be too much!" she protested. 

"Must. Talk. Mama. Father. Please." 

Reba hesitated for a moment, biting her lip, then fished out the other vial. In moments, it's contents were flowing into Cybersix's arm. Reba wiped at her wet forehead, and could tell it was getting hotter by the second. 

"Thanks Reba." Cybersix smiled, seeming to revive "I love you." 

Reba bent down and kissed her cheek, "I love ya too. Bye." 

"Bye. Mama?" Cybersix lifted her head. 

Maria walked up, took a hand with both of hers, raised it to her lips, and kissed Cybersix's burning fingers, "Oh my child..." she started, then held the hand to her cheek to wipe the tears that welled up and ran down her face. 

"Mama..." Cybersix's eyes welled. 

"Why, child? Why did you leave us?" she asked finally. 

"I-guess I couldn't stand all the stares, the talk, the muttering, the anger, the shame, that was kicked up by the board's decision. I felt like nobody. I couldn't be allowed to be a cyber. I think everyone else could tell, and it was causing trouble. I figured if I just, disappeared, that it'd disappear too," she smiled lopsidedly, "Dumb move, huh?" 

"Well, since it made things worse, then yes, that was one of your dumbest moves!" Maria sighed peevishly, "Right up there with becoming a prostitute!" 

"Not my plan. Didn't think about not having an ID until I'd arrived here" Cybersix smiled weakly, "It didn't need an ID, and it paid the bills. I was surprised to find that my programming helped me really enjoy that kind of work." 

Maria shot a glance at her husband that only he could interpret. He sighed and looked at the cieling guiltily, as if Cybersix had discovered and exploited a loophole in his programming that he had been aware of, but had hoped that none of his creations, other than Elaine, would have noticed. Cyber 5000 snickered despite herself and the gravity of the moment. 

"And the leather suit?" Maria asked, sounding highly displeased. 

"Oh, a customer brought that by on a lark and left it with me. I needed something to, Run around in. Everything I had then would have. Been a bit drafty. And cold. I was short on cash. At the time and couldn't. Afford something better," She was starting to struggle again to speak, "I thought the cape. And shoes. And hat added. A bit of class. To it." she said weakly. 

At any other time, Maria would have bitten her wayward daughter's head off, but Cybersix's labored breathing and speech jerked her violently back to the present moment. Sniffing, she quickly bent down and embraced her, careful to avoid the damaged shoulder, "Oh, I've missed you, and I'm going to lose you again!" she murmured, voice breaking, "The days have been so dark without you around!" 

"You mean..." 

"Oh God Yes! I never cared for that stupid leadership thing that you thought was so important! YOU were important! If I had a choice, I'd never let any Cyber out of the compound!" 

"We wouldn't. Be happy." Cybersix murmured softly. 

"I know. That's why I have to let you go. Tell me something, my dear." 

"What?" 

"Were you happy out there, on that street, doing what you were doing?" 

"Not really." she whispered, "I was happiest. When I was fighting. For my friends. And the. Little girl." 

"Even when that fighting put you here?" 

She thought a moment, "Yes. They were. Worth it. I'm happy. Now." 

"Then I am too." Maria replied, "because you are." 

Then Maria Schweitzer Von Richter gently planted a kiss on Cybersix's pale lips. The others in the room straightened and looked at each other: Mama had never kissed any creation there before. Until now. 

Cybersix recognized it too. Her lips trembled and her eyes filled and overflowed, the tears streaming down her cheeks in rivulets. Cyber 5000, alarmed, came around, "What's wrong?" she asked as Maria retreated in tears. 

"I-I couldn't. Feel. Anything!" Cybersix whispered weakly, "Can. Hardly. See." 

Cyber 5000 kissed her on the forehead, then looked with alarm at Von Richter and mouthed, "Hurry!" 

It had been Von Richter who had made the others go before him. He ran the wheelchair up to the bed and put his hand on Cybersix's, "My dear, I am sorry I didn't act sooner to keep you from leaving us. I-I-" He tried to make the explanation shorter, but this was one of those things that was just too complicated to shorten. 

"S-okay!" she whispered, "I love. You." 

"Cybersix, I wanted to tell you this, but never got the chance. Of-" he started, then looked at her, "Cybersix? Cybersix?" 

She didn't reply. 

Von Richter waved Reba away and put his fingers to her neck, searching for a pulse. 

He then reached over and closed the lids over the still glittering onyx black eyes. 

Then he rested his head on her burning hot arm and cried.   



	17. of Dark Branch

Paradise Falling... Dark Branch. Postscript Von Richter and Techno 159 watched as water filled the tank from the top down, displacing the denser, cloudy sustenance. A body could be seen floating in it as green billows swirled around in the tank. 

They were alone in the huge room that was occupied by rows upon rows of tanks. There were one hundred circular glass tanks in this room, each with cables, wiring, and tubes going in through the top. Each had a control panel and status display in front, like the one that Von Richter was using to control the birth sequence for the creation within it. 

Each tank had a large number emblazoned on a plaque set at the top of the metal retaining band. The number on this tank was "006". 

"Finishing water cycle." Von Richter said as he punched a blue button on the control panel when water had completely replaced the sustenance. The body could be seen in the clear water. It was that of a seven or eight year old female with short, black hair. The face couldn't be seen, covered by the survival mask that replaced the umbilical cord when the body age reached one year. 

Techno 159 reached over and pulled the thick white towel off the heater bar next to the tank. It felt piping hot to the touch. She also took the small bag with the clothes the newborn would wear. 

"Initiating air cycle!" 

The body dropped to the bottom of the tank as the water rushed out through the vents that opened up in the bottom. The tube then went up four feet off the main gasket. Techno 159 rushed in quickly, yanked the mask off, and began to dry the child off, "Hello!" she cooed, "Welcome to the family!" _"Such as it is."_ she thought privately. 

"Hello." the little girl said shyly in response, smiling and blinking. 

_"A cyber."_ she thought, noting the telltale, glittering onyx-black eyes, "Here, get these on." she said, opening the small bag. 

She watched as the girl put her clothes on: undies, white shorts, black and white striped shirt, and sandals. She then pulled out the brush and began to brush the damp hair, her mind idly projecting what the newest member of the Von Richter family would look like when she got older. 159 always sketched her impressions for later reference, and was very rarely wrong. 

Her brushing slowed down, then stopped as the image formed in her mind. She glanced at Von Richter, who was watching both of them intently, a hint of a smile on his lips. 

159 had tried brushing the hair to the side. Now, she brushed it forwards instead, making the long, straight, black strands fall over the left side of the Cyber's face. She paused to look at her father's handiwork. 

She dropped the brush, gathered the girl in her arms, and hugged her hard, sobbing. The girl's eyes were large with astonishment, then she smiled and hugged the techno. 

After a few minutes, 159 let go, stood, took the girl's hand, and led her to Von Richter, "Cyber 6006, this is your Father, Max Von Richter," she said, smiling and shaking her head at Von Richter. 

"Merry Christmas, 159." Von Richter replied, grinning, "I hope everyone notices too." 

She glanced up at the plaque over the tank, "I should have seen that coming from a kilometer away," she said, smiling, shaking her head, and wiping her cheeks, "I suppose you can hurt over someone so much, that you try to forget them to make the pain go away." 

"Thanks for your help, dear. You can go get ready for breakfast now. Sorry to get you up at such a horrid hour." 

"It WAS a gawdawful hour, Father!" 159 remonstrated gently, "And I wouldn't have wanted to miss this for the world!" 

"Oh, and one other thing..." 

"Don't tell anyone about it?" 

"If you please." 

She glanced at Cyber 6006, "THAT is going to be very hard to do." 

Von Richter watched the techno leave, then turned to is youngest daughter, "Well, what do you think?" he asked her. She had been looking about, noting the empty tanks. 

She looked at him for a long moment, dredging up programmed knowledge, "Where are the others?" she asked. 

"They'll be coming along later. We won't start until the new year." he said, activating his motorized wheelchair and heading out the door. 

It was early morning, and the sun was just barely rising. The Cyber child looked around her with wide eyes, taking everything in. So engrossed in absorbing the new world around her was she that she occasionally bumped into the wheelchair or got her foot run over when she put it in the way. 

"Better be careful!" he warned, smiling. 

"Can I ride?" she asked suddenly, eyeing his lap. 

"That'd make me very happy." he assured her. 

She was thin and a bit long-boned, as were all the cybers, but soon she was sitting in Von Richter's lap, head nestled on his shoulder, arms around his chest, legs hanging over the side. Von Richter was glad his wheelchair was powered by quantum batteries, for it was a long way from Tank Building A to the cafeteria. 

At this time of year, it should have been a pleasant ride. In earlier years, there had been Christmas decorations in the trees and on all the buildings. This year, there wasn't even a half-hearted attempt to do anything. Type 37 said it all for them. On the second night after his arrival, when there should have been the traditional mutual roasting over fine wine and cigars, Type 37 had lit up his cigar. He puffed on it twice and looked at it morosely for a long minute before stating "This has been a hell of a bad year!" He then punctuated his feelings by snuffing it out in his glass of wine. "You said it." Von Richter had replied, doing the same thing to his cigar with equal sincerity. 

Only the cafeteria and residence looked seasonal, thanks due to Maria's stubborn insistence that she, by golly, was going to enjoy the holidays and any family that would visit. 

"What's that?" she asked suddenly, pointing. 

He glanced over at what she was pointing at and sighed, "That's the cemetery." he said, turning and rolling up to the iron fence surrounding the five graves in it. They were covered with flowers. The one nearest to them also had a blue beret resting in the center of it. 

The cyber slipped out of his lap, walked to the fence, and looked at them, hands grasping the fence, "The flowers are pretty." she remarked, "Why is that here?" she asked, pointing at the beret 

"That is Cybersix's grave." he said, "She died earlier this year, and her batchmates are very sad about it. That beret came from Cyber 356, who became the first female Peruvian Condor." 

She also was the head of the movement to oust the current Cyber Training Board. She had come straight from the airfield to the grave, and after crying for an hour, had left the beret and marched into the Residence to apologize to her parents in advance for the unpleasantness that she was about to create. The 6, 7, and 29 batchsets had been seen talking with Fixed Ideas, Technos, Types, and fellow Cybers in private, intense, and very brief conversations that seemed to rarely end with any signs of disagreement. 

Yes, it had been a hell of a bad year, and was going to end with an equally hell of a bad Christmas. 

The girl looked at the graves thoughtfully, "The flowers ARE pretty." she said finally. 

"Well, let's go into the garden and look at some live ones, okay?" Von Richter invited her. 

She walked alongside the wheelchair as they crossed the road and entered the garden, "Oh, how pretty!" 6006 exclaimed, pulling herself out of the momentary funk she seemed to be in. She ran up to a patch of red and blue orchids and smelled them, "And they smell so nice!" she remarked. 

"You seemed a little sad just now." Von Richter remarked, concerned, "Why?" 

"Umm." she said reluctantly, shifting her feet. She looked down at the dirt, then flashed a grin at him as she pulled her feet out of her sandals and shoved them into the moist, rich earth, wriggling her toes. 

Von Richter nodded, as if checking off an item in a mental list, _"Never did pass up an opportunity to indulge her physical senses, the little minx!"_ he thought. "Umm, what?" he asked aloud. 

She looked a bit sad, "I guess I don't have any batchmates, because I was born alone." she said, "I won't have anyone to be sad for me when I die." 

"But that's not true, 6006! A batchmate is based on genes, not on your number or when you were born! And-" 

He stopped when he saw the girl's head jerk downwards to look at her feet. His eyes followed hers just in time to see the dirt, now turned to mud, begin to churn, as if coming alive, _"What in the-"_

"SIERRA!" Terra erupted from beneath the girl, rising and throwing her high in the air. To her credit, the girl didn't scream or cry out as she flipped end over end, before being caught by a smiling, jovial Terra, "Tango so hap-" 

He stopped in mid sentence and frowned at the girl that he held in his grasp, with only her neck and head visible. 

Von Richter had never seen Terra frown, and the intensity of displeasure frightened him, "Terra!" he called, voice shaking, "She's-" 

Terra ignored him, "Is Sierra, but not Sierra!" he said angrily about the shaken, but brave little girl who was gazing back at him. 

Suddenly, rings of electric fire seemed to course up from the earth, through his arm, and into the small body that began to writhe in his grasp. 

"TERRA! NO! STOP!" Von Richter yelled, hoping someone would hear him. Probably not, because everyone was at the dining hall or heading for it, and it was at the center of the dormitories a half kilometer on the other side of the labs, "SHE'S NOT CYBERSIX! SHE'S JUST-" 

"TANGO!" Cyberdragon whipped through the trees and past Terra's head, "LISTEN TO FATHER!" she yelled as she dodged through the branches and out into the open. Von Richter caught a glimpse of her as she wheeled about for another approach. 

"CYBERDRAGON! BE CAREFUL!" Von Richter shouted, "TERRA! SHE'S JUST BEEN BORN!" 

Cyberdragon finished the turn and whipped back into the garden. Her right wing sliced into the mud arm holding 6006, who had started screaming. Terra growled, caught the severed arm, then twisted, emitted a third arm, and shot a slug of mud at the departing Special. He hit her in the back. The extra weight and the force of the blow knocked her down, bringing her crashing down behind the rose bush. Von Richter saw the mud slither rapidly through the underbrush and rejoin Terra's main body, followed by the rise of Cyberdragon as she beat her wings to get altitude. _"She won't be able to attack until she gets high enough to get some speed!"_ He thought. 

Desperate, Von Richter wheeled his wheel chair around and ran it straight at Terra. Unfortunately, a "leg" shot out, formed into a hand, and held the wheel chair at bay. 

As suddenly as it started, it stopped. Terra pulled himself inwards and downwards, cradling the small form in his "arms" in a way that made Von Richter think of a statue of a _Pieta._ Terra rocked back and forth, looking down happily at his captive. 

Cyberdragon whipped through the garden, noticed the end of the crisis, and slammed on the brakes, coming to a near hover before settling to the ground, "What's going on?" she asked. 

Heart thumping harder than he thought safe, Von Richter wheeled up and carefully felt at the little girl's neck. There was a strong and steady pulse, "She's alive." he said, relieved. He then looked sternly at Terra, "Terra, why did you do that? What did this little one do to you to deserve that?" 

"She was not Sierra." Terra explained, "But is Sierra now." 

Von Richter shook his head: There was no making sense of Terra, "Well, let's get going to the cafeteria, okay?" 

Cyberdragon looked at the girl as they left the garden, "Who's that?" 

"Cyber 6006." Von Richter replied. "Recognize her?" 

Cyberdragon looked at the unconscious form that Terra carried more closely, starting despite herself when she did recognize the shadow of the adult in the child.   
-------------   
Maria tried to conceal the concern in her heart. Dressed in a long, red robe with white trim intended to invoke the spirit of Mrs. Santa Claus, she stood watching her children getting their food, eating, and talking. 

The cafeteria was huge, and consisted of several levels. The bottom floor covered half a football field, and was filled with picnic-style tables. There were five balconies that circled the wall, and were configured more like long bars circling the entire room. The idea was to be able to seat about 4000 in the room, and allow everyone to see what was happening on the bottom floor. There were about 3800 present now, because the seating was reduced due to the huge Christmas tree that occupied one corner of the cafeteria. Jose had condescened to pilot the walker to get a real one at Maria's insistence. 

The talk was not what it normally would be at this time of year: Being scattered all over the world, their children took advantage of the normally long holiday season to return home to the compound. Here, they would renew family bonds, exchange presents, reaffirm mutual affections, and catch up on the news. There was less of that now, with a sad and angry mood undercutting everything. At least the tree was doing its duty by making the place smell like Christmas. 

"Gramma?" 

Maria turned, smiled, bent down, and hugged Bethany, "What is it?" 

Bethany looked around her, "Everyone is angry. It's not like it was last Christmas." 

_"There's nothing that gets past you, hmm?"_ she thought. 

"Where's Grampa?" 

Maria frowned, "THAT'S what I'd like to know! He should be-" 

The middle double doors flew open as Terra slid in, looking very happy and pleased, "Is very good day!" he announced, slithering to a halt a few feet before the first row of tables. 

"Terra!" Jose hopped out from his place with the specials and ran up to him, "Where have you been? You haven't showed yourself for months since-" he stopped when he saw what Terra was cradling. Von Richter and Cyberdragon walked in after Terra. 

Every one of Von Richter's creations had excellent hearing, so the din quickly died out seconds after Terra arrived. His disappearance since Cybersix's faked death had been on everyone's mind, and some had openly wondered if the two incidents were related. 

Maria's spirits quickly rose: as far as she was concerned, Terra's arrival was the best event of the year after the rescue of Type 37. She noticed the little one in Terra's grasp, and went closer to get a better look. 

The girl was slowly coming around, blinking her eyes. At this, Terra began to swirl around in what was probably his version of a waltz, "Tango happy now! Is very good day! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!" 

"Max Von Richter! What on earth..." Maria glanced at him, "Who is that?" 

He smiled, "Merry Christmas everyone! Say hello to Cyber 6006, fresh out of her tank!" he announced. 

"6006... Max! You didn't!" Maria didn't know whether to whoop with joy or smack her man senseless. 

"Yes, I did! I can still grow 'em, you know!" he replied proudly, as if having made a point, "Snuck it in under all the technos' noses! Ha!" he grinned, "Her genes are the base for the..." 

"Ohhh!" the girl moaned, blinking her eyes, "Terra! Why the heck did you DO that? I'm going to be late for..." she stopped, suddenly realizing where she was. She looked around, "What the-" she struggled to get out of Terra's grasp, "Let me go, Terra!" 

Terra released her. She stepped away, then started to slowly turn in circles, looking wide-eyed at everything and everyone, finally stopping at Jose, who was looking at her as strangely as she was looking at him, "Jose?" 

He smiled hesitantly, "Hi, 6006!" he said as pleasantly as he could manage. 

She looked startled, "Jose, are you sick?" she reached out, as if to feel his forehead, when she stopped and stared at her hand. She then followed her arm to herself. She felt at her shorts, then her shirt. She then grabbed the collar, pulled it a foot away from herself, and took a quick look inside the shirt. She then shoved the collar to her chest, looking aghast, "I seem to have shrunk!" she gasped, "And deflated!" she added with chagrin, taking another peek under her shirt. 

"You just came out of your tank." Jose pointed out, "Of course, you-" 

"No! No!" she shook her head, "You came to me, telling me to see Father. I went into the garden. Terra came up and hugged me in his usual way, and then..." she paused, "And then, I THINK I'm in the tank room, with a techno drying me off, only, its not right cause there's nobody else and it feels as if it just occurred..." She blinked, "I am VERY confused!" 

"Hmph! I don't blame you!" Von Richter said, "We went into the garden. Terra comes up, grabs you, claims you're Cybersix, but not Cybersix, and then nearly kills you by shocking you with electricity! 

"I THINK I remember that." the girl nodded. 

Suddenly, Kayla called out, "Hey Cybersix! What day is it?" 

"March 3 of course!" the girl replied. 

Kayla squealed with delight, fought her way to the girl, grabbed her and spun her around, "It's Cybersix! She's back!" 

"Now *I'M* confused!" Von Richter stated loudly. 

"Me too!" Maria confessed. 

"Not as much as me!" the girl yelled, "I mean, I was away?" 

"Yes and no!" Kayla laughed. She put the girl down, walked up to Terra, and wagged a finger at him, "Fess up, Terra!" 

"What?" Terra looked dismayed. 

"You did something to her, didn't you?" 

"Yes, but because she was Sierra, but not Sierra." 

"You mean, the body was Cybersix's but not her mind, right?" 

"Yes. Terra felt her feet and could tell it is Sier-Cybersix right away." 

"So you put her mind back in, didn't you?" 

Terra looked chagrined, "Yes. Terra remembered Cybersix, and helped Cybersix remember herself." 

"And the last time you touched her, she was going to the residence because Father called her to talk about Cornazon and Type 37, right?" 

"She said she was going to see Father. I told her to say hello to him for me." 

"I don't remember that!" The girl protested, "I just remembered you grabbing me!" 

"But Terra, you said that AFTER you let her go, right?" 

"Yes." he replied. 

"And you never touched her after that, right?" 

"Yes, but not the way Terra likes, so that Cybersix is with him all the time." 

"It's December, isn't it?" The girl asked suddenly, noticing the decorations. 

"It's Christmas morning." Jose answered, comprehension slowly dawning on him.. 

"So where'd the last nine months of my life go?" she asked, looking alarmed and distressed. 

"Later!" Kayla shook her head at Jose, who was about to speak, "Sorry, Jose, but it doesn't matter NOW, does it?" 

"NO!" Jose tackled the girl and planted a big kiss on her cheek, "CYBERSIX! I LOVE YOU!" he shouted. 

The look of shocked surprise on her face made Quaren and Grizelda laugh. The cafeteria exploded into a loud buzz as technos began to talk excitedly. 

"WAIT A DAMN MINUTE!" 

Cyber 356, wearing her Peruvian Condor uniform, strode purposefully through the crowded floor, a scowl on her face. She walked up to the girl and looked at her critically, "Well, you certainly look like you'd be Cybersix!" she admitted grudgingly. 

"She should!" Von Richter sounded giddy as the implications sank in, "She's got the exact same genes as Cybersix. That's your batchbase standing there, 356!" 

"Okay, so she's got Six's genes. That doesn't make her Cybersix!" 

"No, but just add the memories." Kayla responded. 

356 looked at Kayla, "You're not making sense, 338." 

"Makes perfect sense to Technos!" Techno 1 shouted. 

Kayla looked at 356 scathingly, "Then I'll make it perfectly clear to YOU, sister! Terra fooled all of us. He's able to perfectly preserve memories without shocking anyone. He shocked Father because it was his first time, and he had no practice. Cybersix told me how Terra does a full-body grab of her. That's how he records memories. Didn't you hear him? He keeps an image of Cybersix inside what passes for his head, updating it periodically, like a hard drive backup! Suppose a computer you were working on got bombed or destroyed. If you got an exact same model, with identical parts, would it be your computer?" 

"Of course not!" Cyber 356 replied, "I know about computers! You'd have to restore the hard drive for it to be my computer again! Of course, all the work I did since-" She stopped. 

Kayla nodded, "Hey Six!" she said idly, turning to the girl who was listening in to this with wide eyes. 

"What?" the girl replied. 

"Did you hear the news about Type 37?" 

"No. what?" 

"He got kidnapped by Cornazon!" 

"What!?" the girl was surprised and visibly alamred, "Is he still alive? Did we get him back?" 

"Yes, you did!" Type 37 yelled over from his table, "Thanks, Six!" 

"I did?" She looked around her, "I rescued him?" 

"You lead the rescue team!" Jose said. 

"*I* don't remember that!" she said. 

"I called you to give you that assignment." Von Richter ran his wheelchair over to her, "Terra recorded your memories just before you got to me, so you have no memory of what happened after that." 

"So, this is supposedly Cybersix, but without the last nine months?" 356 questioned quizzically. 

Von Richter turned to the girl, "How do you feel?" he asked her. 

"I suppose, given the-" here, she pulled at her shirt collar to take another rueful peek under it, "- umm physical changes, I feel like me." 

"And who are you?" 356 asked. 

The girl gave a long, sad sigh, "I sometimes wonder, being a cyber that teaches literature and reading, and not fighting, who and what I am. I guess-" she glanced up, and her eyes narrowed, "Hey!" 

"What?" the change in the girl's tone took everyone by surprise, including 356. 

"You made the Condors! Did you dress up like a guy, using 2306's disguise, like I told you?" 

356's eyes widened, as if she was seeing a ghost rise up before her, "I-I-I-!" she stuttered. 

"Tell her!" Quaren demanded loudly. 

."But-But-" 356 started, glancing around wildly 

"TELL HER, DAMMIT! OR I'LL KICK YOUR ASS ALL OVER THIS DAMN JUNGLE!" Quaren yelled. 

356 Bit her lip, "Ahhhh, no!" she admitted, grimacing. 

The look the girl gave her unnerved her even more, "So whose disguise did you-" she stopped, paused, then stepped toward 356, "You didn't!" 

"Well, ahh!" 

The girl leaped at 356, grabbing the collar and balancing on her belt. She glared right into 356's eyes, "Adrian Seidelman! RIGHT?" 

"Yes!" 356 said in a very small voice. 

"YES WHO?!" 

"YES MAAM!" 

"WHOSE DISGUISE WAS THAT?" 

"CYBER 29'S!" 

"CYBER 29'S WHO?" 

"CYBER 29'S MAAM!" 

"CYBER 29'S STUFF IS WHOSE?" 

"YOURS!" 

"YOURS WHO?" 

"YOURS MAAM!" 

"I love you dearly, sister!" the girl said softly, "I'd give my life for you, you know that? But would you please keep your hands OFF MY STUFF!" 

Cyber 356 was nodding, eyes welling as the realization sank in, "Yes, Six. I know that." she whispered back, voice shaky with emotion, "I'm sorry! I didn't think you'd mind!" 

"And why did you think that?" the girl asked critically. 

"Because you were dead." she murmured softly, "Welcome back, Six! I really missed you!" she said loudly 

Cyber 356 took advantage of Cybersix's confusion at that answer to give her a bear hug, kissing her cheek fiercely. She then laughed and tossed Cybersix to Kayla, who did the same thing, "It's really Cybersix!" she shouted happily, "Only Cybersix would know that she told me to use 2306's disguise!" 

Maria covered her ears at the explosion of cheering and yelling. She was happy for everyone, but did the Fixed Ideas have to bellow the loudest and break the tables by jumping up and down on them? She walked over to her husband, "Max Von Richter!" she demanded sternly. 

"What?" he turned to her, looking like a kid caught with a baseball bat and a broken window. 

"How could you keep this a secret from everyone, including me?" 

"My love, it was supposed to be a surprise present to everyone. Our own Christmas child, so to speak, that would hopefully bring peace to our family like the first child tried to do for the world." He shook his head, "I had no idea that Terra-" 

As if on cue, Terra slid over to both of them, "See? Is really Sierra! I mean, Cybersix!" 

"Thank you, Terra!" Maria said with feeling, "That was wonderful! You've made everyone happy!" 

"Terra!" Von Richter frowned, "Did you keep ALL of her memories? " 

"Yes" 

"And you gave all of them back to her? Even the bad memories?" 

"Yes." 

"Why?" 

"To lose memories, even bad ones, would be like for a flower to lose pedals. All memories made Cybersix the way she is. Of all the flowers in Terra's garden, the memory of Cybersix is the most precious and beautiful." 

Maria watched, amazed, as Terra slithered off to talk to Grizelda. For his part, Von Richter was very thoughtful for a long minute. He looked up at Maria to talk to her, then started grinning. 

"What?" Maria noticed his grin. 

He pointed upwards. 

Maria glanced up. Cyberdragon had gotten a fishing pole, and was sitting on the balcony/bar over the entrance, dangling a sprig of mistletoe over the Von Richter's heads. She winked and smiled a little. 

"No good deed goes unpunished, Max Von Richter!" Maria warned as she commenced to celebrate the holiday tradition associated with mistletoe. 

Cybersix sat on a table, Cyber 5000 sitting next to her, "Well Six" she said smiling, "NOW you're gonna have a taste, for a few years, of what I have to put up with all the time!" 

Cybersix smiled lopsidedly at her, pulling at her shirt and glancing inside again. 

"Ohhh! Those will be back!" 5000 assured her, patting her on the back and laughing with the other Cybers who were standing around, "We can probably look up in the records when-" 

"HEY SIX!" 

Both girls turned to see Cyber-91 push his way through the milling crowd, "You know, you've just lost your leadership ranking!" he declared. 

All the Cybers in hearing distance stopped talking and glareed at 91, who just smiled back pleasantly. 

"Why?" she asked, frowning. 

He waved at her, "Think you can pass the physicals now?" 

"Aaargh! Not AGAIN!" 

"Yes! Back to basic training for you!" 

"OH NO!" she groaned, burying her face in her hands while all the Cybers in the surrounding tables howled.   
------------   
"Are you still up?" 

Cybersix glanced up guiltily from the report she was reading. Maria was standing in the doorway. She shook her head and walked in, followed by Von Richter. 

Cybersix waved the thick sheaf of papers, "Catching up on my missing nine months." she sighed. She looked at her mother, who sat down on the edge of the bed, "I'm sorry! Was I that much trouble?" 

Maria smiled, "Yes, you were!" she laughed, reaching out and running her hand through her Cyber's hair playfully, "But given the circumstances, you did the best you could!" 

"Which was magnificent." Von Richter put in. 

Cybersix smiled ruefully, "I still feel I'm trouble. Really, do I have to sleep-" 

"YES. YOU. WILL!" Maria insisted. 

"But I grew up in the barracks! I know what it's like!" 

"No! You sleep here. In this room. Next to our bedroom. Until I get used to the fact that you're here. And alive!" 

"How long will that be?" 

Maria bent over and kissed Six on the cheek, "Until *I* say so! Get some sleep! Even Reba needs at least five hours! And you have a full day of training tomorrow. Not that that's my choice..." here, Maria looked pleadingly at her husband. 

"No." Von Richter insisted, "I'm not going to make the same mistakes again, and that's final! It's pushing it having her sleep here instead of the barracks! The sooner she reaches Junior Class Leader ranking, the better." He reached over and shut off the lamp with finality, "Let's all get to bed!" 

Cybersix sighed and leaned back as Maria tucked her in, bent over, and lightly kissed her on the lips, "Mama, when did you start doing that?" she asked. 

"Far too late," was her enigmatic reply as she rose and left the room with her husband. 

Von Richter was half way to his bedroom door when he stopped and frowned. 

"What is it?" Maria asked, wondering why her husband was turning around. 

"Almost made another mistake." he tossed over his shoulder as he opened the door to Cybersix's bedroom. 

He rolled up to the bed, making out the small head against the white pillow. Two stars appeared as she opened her eyes, "Father?" she asked, raising her head slightly. 

He leaned over and ran his fingers through her hair lovingly, "No. Just lie there, like that." 

He made out her smile as he rubbed the back of her head gently, "Cybersix, I always thought I had enough time. Enough time to figure out what to do with your situation after you rescued 37. Enough time to tell you how I felt about you while you were dying in that hospital bed. And I've almost made the same mistake of thinking I'd have the time to tell you what I'm going to tell you now." 

"What, Father?"   



	18. Epilogue

Paradise Falling... Dark Branch. Epilogue The young cyber leaped from trunk to trunk, not touching the ground as she bounded through Jungle course 6. Cyber Drill Instructors 1329 and 124 sprinted behind her, noting her progress. 

"HIGH BRANCH, SIX!" 1329 yelled. 

Cybersix spun, hit the ground, and shot upwards. Up. Up. The two DI's stopped and watched closely as she shot past the smooth, narrow branch 22 meters above the ground. She curled up in a ball, spun, then snapped her body out full length and spun around as she came down, the branch slapping into the tips of her fingers as she fell past it. She whipped around the bar several times with the skill of an Olympic gymnast before landing lightly on top of it into a crouch. 

"ENOUGH! DOWN!" 124 shook her head irritatedly while 1329 sighed. 

Cybersix bounded down the tree, leaping from branch to branch, down to the jungle floor. She landed on her feet, panting heavily and slicking off thick sheets of sweat off her face with her hands. 

"You missed the branch, cyber!" 1329 scolded her, "You still think you're an adult!" 

She stood at attention, "YES SIR!" she shouted around her gasps. 

"You're half as light, but have 60% of your strength, so you're 10% underestimating yourself!" 124 joined in, "Let's take her to the bar course." she suggested, turning to 1329, "She might be needing to recalibrate herself." 

"Good idea." 1329 nodded, yanking the canteen off his belt, "Take three, cyber!" he snapped, holding it out to her. 

"THANK YOU SIR!" she shouted. She took the canteen and walked over to the tree whose branch she had missed. Leaning against the trunk upright, she took small sips from the canteen. 

"Don't spill any!" 1329 added, "It's 10% sustenance! Burn your shirt, it comes out of your allowance!" 

"YES SIR!" 

"And watch your water levels!" 124 added, "You have a smaller body now, and can't run as long as you used to do!" 

"YES MAAM!" 

Cyber 1329 put his hand on Cyber 124's shoulder and quickly tapped out a message in the DI code that the instructors always used when discussing trainee progress and didn't want the subjects to overhear, "Damn, she's good!" he tapped. 

She reached around and tapped on his lower back, "She's got more fire and drive this time around. And yet" She stopped. 

"What?" 1329 tapped, "Tell me!" 

"She's sweeter. She lets everyone fuss over her and love on her. As if" 124 responded, then stopped again. 

"What?" 

"As if she knows that being a child, and giving herself to be loved, makes the adults around her happy too." 

"Don't touch her." He tapped out warningly. 

"I know." she tapped back in reply, smiling bitterly, "After the course?" 

"After the course." 1329 confirmed, "After me." 

"Can't wait." 

"So, any idea of what's got into her so she's better the second time around?" 

"Nope. No idea." 

Cybersix walked to the two DIs and handed the canteen to 1329, "To the Bar course, Cyber!" 1329 snapped. 

"YES SIR!" She turned and bounded through the woods, the words her father spoke to her burning bright in her heart and soul. 

_"I am so pleased and proud of what you have become, Cybersix."_ He had said, his hand softly caressing her hair. 

_"Of all the creations that I have made, you are the best and most wonderful."_

The two Cyber DIs started sprinting after the happiest Cyber in the world. 

The End   



	19. End Note

Paradise Falling... Dark Branch. Epilogue I wish to again thank the Cybersix Fan Character owners for allowing me to use the creations of their minds in this story.

I also wish to thank you, the patient reader, for taking the time to read this lengthly work of mine. It is my hope that you enjoyed reading it with as much pleasure as I wrote it.

The issue has been raised about the propriety of writing a story that diverges so radically from the vision of Carlos Meglia and Carlos Trillo, as well as TMS/NOA. I spent one sleepless night worrying about it (which led to a short bout with bronchitis).

I have decided that should either of the two Carloses or an artistic director involved with the production of the Cybersix cartoon protests the story, I will take it down immediately and issue a formal apology. I leave it to them to decide whether my work is within or outside of the vision they created or extended. If anyone else should take issue or be offended by this story, I ask that, after registering their complaint in a review, they contact the artists mentioned above and report my offense and this offer, so that they do not waste their money on lawyers unnecessarily.

I am confident, however, that the same artists capable of creating such a magnificent vision would also possess an equal greatness of mind that would lead them to read it before passing judgment or requesting that it be taken down.

I concluded that by doing this, its fate would ultimately rest in the artistic sensibilities and perceptions of the Latins, whose judgement I trust, having been raised at the altar of their Art before I knew that art existed, and in whose tradition I wrote it, not knowing any other.   
  



End file.
